Lost Sons
by Luke Danger
Summary: When Shanxi was freed, Earth knew aliens were out there. What they did not expect was to find other humans already in the stars in a holy empire, and part of the Citadel. Twenty six years since First Contact, the Council prepares for two new human Spectres. And on the Normandy SR-1, Ashley Williams and her imperial counterpart, Shepard, begin the first round of evaluations.
1. Prologue

The lecture hall of the University of Serrice was buzzing with activity as various students talked among themselves. While Galactic History was not a subject that many would expect to get a degree in, it was still a course many took for various reasons during their studies on Thessia. Needing the extra credit, thinking it was a (relatively) easy class, getting it assigned as part of their first semester, or even just simply wanting to know. The class fell silent as the professor, an aged asari matriarch, entered the hall and took her place in front of the assembled students.

"Good morning everyone," She said, receiving few responses. "Last week, we finished with the Turian Hierarchy and their ascension to the Citadel Council. Today, we will start our studies on the Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem. Who can tell me what makes the Empire unique compared to other nations?" She asked, looking around. "Liara, perhaps you can tell me?" She said and pointed towards a young asari in the front seat.

"Huh? Oh, me?" The young asari maiden's cheeks flushed a brighter shade of blue briefly. "Um, the Empire's people are one of two known species and the only Citadel member not to hold their homeworld."

"That is correct," the professor nodded as she adjusted the hologram to show the political state of the galaxy at that time. "In 1692 GS, a batarian slaver group hatched a brazen plan, one even more illegal and dangerous than anything they had ever done before. They traveled, using normal FTL methods, into parts unknown and began to open Mass Relays, their goal being the opening of a backdoor into Citadel space, thus bypassing all the patrols and attacking lightly defended core worlds with high population densities."

"What could go wrong?" a turian jeered briefly, getting an agreeing snicker from her fellow students.

Ignoring the remark, the professor continued on. "However, a faulty navigation computer led their fleet to a homeworld of a pre-industrial species, called humans. In direct violation of Citadel Conventions, they had not only opened unknown Relays, but also proceeded to abduct thousands of these people."

"However, during their return to the Terminus Systems, their captives managed to escape and overpower their captors. Several ships carrying the captives crashed on the salarian colony of Dinalin. The Council initially planned return the captives to their homeworld, but in the end it did not. Who can tell me why?" hands rose and she looked to one of the students in the back. "You in the backseat?"

"The ship's navigational data was lost and since the relays were located in unknown space, they were never found. So the Council just gave them a planet to call their own," a salarian answered.

"Good. However, it was not that the Council simply gave them a planet, but merely acknowledged their ownership. The planet, which we now call Nod, had colonization rights which were bought by several rich philanthropists who then offered the planet as a new home for the displaced humans. The Council merely accepted this offer of goodwill."

"Of course they did, they're the asari's children!" someone scoffed. The professor was quite sure it was one of the turian students. Their vocals were quite distinct.

"Yes, that is a common belief. It is quite true that the asari played a large role in uplifting the humans. However, it should be remembered that human society developed in a different direction than the Asari Republics, contrasting asari e-democracy with their absolute monarchy. For a while, humans fought among themselves, blaming each other for summoning demons and angering their god. What changed? You there."

"Some dude talked some sense into them," an asari to the left side of the room offered.

"And who was this 'dude'?" the professor pressed.

"Peter... the Third?"

"Peter the Second, actually. He preached that humans were to put aside their squabbles over details, as all three human religions centered around the same god, but had theological differences on this god's will. Can anyone name these three major religions before the formation of the Faith of Abraham?" the teacher looked around and saw no hands, with several students looking shamed and others frustrated.

"I see several of you skipped that part of our textbooks," she said with a smirk. "Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Those three were the dominant human religions until Peter the Second. While initially he was not listened to, several human leaders eventually chose to convert to this religion in order to end the infighting. But while there was pragmatism, there was also real religious zeal amongst these converts. So, what eventually made this Faith of Abraham so central to their culture?"

"They see their god everywhere!" someone shouted.

"It's a tradition?" someone else offered.

"The cultural backlash reaction as a result of our interference," a turian - the same one who had asked what could go wrong - offered.

"Very good, cultural backlash is the correct answer. As external cultures began seep into their daily lives, there was a growing concern of cultural extinction and loss of themselves in galactic society. This was realized even in the Citadel, where some protested against offering aid to the humans on the grounds that it stunted their natural cultural evolution and the fear of having another krogan case in their hands."

"Except humans don't require anti-tank munitions to take down," someone whispered just a little too loudly, earning a swift glare from the professor before she continued.

"However, in the end, humanity rallied behind the banner of the Faith of Abraham and made it their central cultural tenant. Following the appearance of Saint Adil, who claimed that their god wanted humanity to unite under a single banner, the Empire of Jerusalem was formally founded. Who was their first Emperor?"

"Baldwin the First?" an asari offered, before her companion next to her shook her head.

"No, that was the third Emperor. First one was... Hassan the First?"

"Yes, Hassan the First is the correct answer," the teacher said before a loud buzzing noise rang out, signaling the end of the period. "We are out of time today and we have skimmed over the early history of the Empire. Next time, we will study how Empire earned the Star part of their name and next week, we will discuss the Batarian Crusade and its implications for the galaxy at large. For next class, I want a two page report of position of the Emperor and how his dual nature as a head of church and head of state intertwines in the Empire's government. Class dismissed."

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**Citadel Council Chambers**

**2657 GS**

"Councilors, you requested my presence?" ambassador Abd-Al-Azis said as he bowed to the three Councilors in front of him. Around them, numerous attendants were looking over the proceeding.

"Yes. There has been some... disturbing news from one of our border patrols, Ambassador. We had thought that the Empire knew the consequences of breaking the law," Tevos said, looking down at the human coldly. To his credit his face did not reveal anything.

"Ambassador, the Empire is aware that the opening of new Relays without having scouted it's counterpart is illegal, correct?" Councilor Bruha - an aged salarian - asked.

"Yes, quite so. The danger such recklessness poses is too great. Everyone knows this. Why do you ask?" Azis asked, confusion finally showing on his face.

"We recently located a colony of yours, well outside the territories given to the Empire. Worst of all, they tried to open a relay without permission," Tevos said, bringing up the holographic image of the colony. Azis looked over it. Around them, the observers spoke among themselves, shocked by the reveal.

"Relay 314's counterpart is not known, as such, it should-" Sparatus began, before Azis cut him off.

"Relay 314? Isn't that in the southern part of the Attican Traverse?" the ambassador asked, raising his head.

"Yes, so?"

"We have no presence there," Azis said, reaching for his omni-tool and checking the records of the Imperial Administration. "You can see that for yourself," the Councilors turned their eyes to their consoles, looking over the data sent to them.

"Interesting... Please continue," Bruha commented before tapping something into her console. Azis suspected Bruha was requesting confirmation from STG. A few minutes later, Bruha turned to her fellow Councilors and nodded.

"A rogue colony then?" Tevos asked.

"Perhaps, but as far as we know no sect has declared that they would be doing anything like this," Azis answered. "Nor have any of the Orders or Noble Houses declared colonization projects. It may be secret, but opening a relay... no one is that stupid. We are still newcomers in galactic terms, but we have been well educated about the dangers of the unknown."

"Too true," Tevos said when Sparatus's omnitool chirped. He turned his attention to the display, reading whatever message had arrived, before turning to the other Councilors.

"The occupation fleet just sent a message," Sparatus said. "They had problems with the translation software, apparently the dialect was not something in the program. They finished updating the software and found sound something... interesting."

"Spit it out already, Sparatus. You have never been one for theatrics," Tevos demanded from the newly appointed turian representative, surprising those present with her sudden aggressiveness.

"They have no knowledge of the Star Empire or the Citadel and claim to be from something called the Systems Alliance. Which hails from Earth."

"Earth?" Azis asked asked, barely believing his ears. "Do you mean...?"

"Yes. Humanity's homeworld," Sparatus answered.

Silence deep enough to hear a fly buzz fell upon the Council chamber. Eventually, Azis made a sign of the cross and crescent upon his chest before whispering in a tiny voice, which could be heard among silent chamber.

"By God... it has been found."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**One Week Later**

_**SSV Horns of Hattin**_**, Shanxi Orbit**

**2157 CE (2657 GS)**

Second Lieutenant Steven Hackett sat in his chair, waiting for the representative of this new alien species to arrive. While the Second Fleet had been preparing a counterattack to liberate Shanxi from the invading aliens, a transmission from General Williams had arrived saying that aliens had pulled out and had left a message saying that they wanted to talk. The Second Fleet had entered the system after scout ships had confirmed that it was clear.

A few days later, a new ship had entered the system, different from the earlier vessels. It had hailed the fleet from the Mass Relay and declared its intentions to open communications. They even provided (using one of the transmission stations left behind by the invaders) what they said was an 'updated' translation software, which had been uploaded into the ones used by Hackett and his guards once the cyberwarfare specialists were sure that they were not trojan horses.

Then again, it was not his job to decide these matters. He had been chosen to serve as the representative, because he was in that nightmarish position where he could speak for humanity, but was also expendable if this went sour. He really hoped nothing would go wrong, he did not want the last memory of his wife being them arguing about his career.

The door opened and what looked like a blue woman stepped inside, flanked by two others with body armor and holstered pistols. Hackett stood up, signaling his guards to be ready in case this went wrong. The aliens, all of them, looked exactly like attractive human women, except with blue skin and a weird tentacle-like crests instead of hair. He had to stop himself from commenting on how it looked like an old school sci-fi film that used rubber foreheads for the aliens.

"Guess that space does have blue skinned alien babes," one of the marines on his flank muttered. Hackett let the man's comment pass, it was somewhat unexpected.

"It is an interesting biological and evolutionary question that is still being worked on," the alien said, making Hackett glare at the guard.

"I apologize for my men, I hope we have not insulted you," Hackett apologized, raising his hand defensively.

"No harm done, it's an understandable reaction. My name is Amathema and I am here on behalf of the Citadel Council. We wish to apologize for this tragic chain of events and share some important information before the official delegations arrive," the alien explained. Hackett noticed that her lips movement did not quite sync with the words he heard. Hackett assumed it was due to the translation software.

"Very well. I am Second Lieutenant Hackett and I was ordered to meet you. Do sit, it is considered rude by us to keep the other standing," Hackett offered, gesturing to a chair next to Amathema.

"Thank you," she (Hackett was quite sure it was a she) said, sitting down. Hackett sat down himself, before Amathema continued. "I hope you understand that this is not yet an official meeting, I am not authorized to actually agree on anything or offer anything, merely to lay a groundwork to set up official talks."

"I understand. I am very much in the same position myself," Hackett paused for a moment to think. "I assume official diplomats will be conducting talks later?"

"Yes, we are hoping that after this meeting you could send your own diplomats who could speak for you."

"I'll talk to my superiors, but I can't make promises."

"That is acceptable. Now, I should explain the situation somewhat. But first, I must ask you what does the name Jerusalem mean to your people?"

"Jerusalem?" Hackett asked, raising his eyebrow. What did the aliens want to know about that for? And why did they have the word for the city in their language? Or was it one of those exceptions due to being a name?

"Yes."

"What about it?"

"We wish to confirm whether or not certain information has survived on Earth, or if details have been lost to time," Amathema said, "If the details have been lost, then we will explain them to you."

"I see." Hackett curled his lip uncertainly for a moment. "Well, Jerusalem is a city back on our homeworld. Some say it's a holy city, others say it's a source of headaches for politicians. It was destroyed by a meteor strike a long time ago, easily a thousand years, before being rebuilt."

"Yes. We expected that. Well, you see, about... let me see…" an orange device around her wrist glowed and the soldiers were immediately on guard and hands were on their pistols, their alien counterparts responding likewise to this action.

"Peace," the ambassador said, "I am simply confirming dates."

"Stand down, men," Hackett said, making a mental note to commend their quick uptake to a potential threat.

The alien nodded as her device finished. "That estimate matches up with our end. A thousand years ago, a group of slavers broke several Citadel laws and ended up over your homeworld, Earth. An event called the Third Crusade was happening at the time," Hackett blinked at the fact that they knew of Earth's history and of specific events. "These slavers, using their significantly more advanced technology captured over 30,000 people in and around the city called Jerusalem, before destroying it."

"Wait wait wait, back up a bit," Hackett said as he realized what she was saying. "You are saying that Old Jerusalem was destroyed by _aliens_?"

"Yes," the alien ambassador said, wincing faintly.

It took a minute for Hackett to finally process the revelation. "Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, those loons were right," Hackett muttered to himself, before turning back to Amathema. "How many other aliens have visited our world?" Hackett asked a little too harshly, the prothean ruins on Mars in the back of his mind.

"None, as far as we know," Amathema said. "As the slavers were returning, either through skill or luck, the enslaved humans managed to overpower their captors and free themselves. Luckily for them, the ships were passing through a system colonized by the salarians - another Council species - and the ship crashed onto it. We were informed of this and sought to help the confused and scared escapees."

"I see. Um, thank you, I guess," Hackett said awkwardly. How the hell were you supposed to respond to finding out about that? "What happened to them?"

"We helped them. Tried to find their homeworld so we could return them. As you might guess, we didn't succeed. Space is pretty big place after all," Amathema said with a brief smirk. "As such, we offered them a world to live on. It has been a long time since, but these days they travel the stars with us, under the banner of the Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem. Pretty nice people, as long as you do not try to practice slavery."

"Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem?" Hackett asked incredulously and was fairly sure he could hear one of his guards blanching in shock. "Huh, haven't heard the term 'Holy' in a nation's name since medieval times. Most people don't want like idea of mixing religion and politics these days."

"You are not religious yourself?" Amathema said, surprise evident on her face.

"You're asking about me or our species?" Hackett asked, confused as a nudging sense of worry creeped up his spine.

"Both, really," Amathema said.

"Well, I guess you could say there is spirituality, but most people just pay a lipservice out of social traditions rather than from any real sense of belonging," Hackett explained. "A lot of humans have, well, outgrown such silly superstitions," _what the hell are you doing quoting archaic sci-fi you moron…_ he angrily berated himself before adding. "Er. Well, it's sort of fallen out of favor, it's just not as popular as it used to be."

"Oh dear, this might complicate things... still, it can't be said that nobody saw this coming," Amathema muttered to herself, though clearly distressed.

"I hope our beliefs are not something to worry about," Hackett said cautiously. There was no knowing what sort people these aliens were.

"No, we have no issues with you. Religious freedom is something we take extremely seriously on the Citadel. The thing I worry about is certain elements of the Empire's population. The citizens of the Star Empire are quite religious, their Emperor is both head of state and the leader of their religion. But as with everything in the galaxy, there are those who take it too far," Amathema explained, pausing often as she was clearly trying to put it diplomatically.

"Oh... I hope they have not been causing troubles for you. Back on home, we had... how to put this nicely..." Hackett said as he rubbed the back of his neck trying to think of a good way to put it. "We had bad runs with religion our own history, with people mixing religion and politics. Bad experiences. So..." Hackett concluded as he trailed off and could not think of a better way to put it. If this group of humans were just as bad as certain groups back home, the Alliance could be coming into the galaxy with preloaded expectations against them.

"That depends on your definition of trouble. As a whole, they obey galactic law and their missionaries are rather well known for running charity as part of their efforts, but there is bad blood between them and the batarians."

"Oh," Hackett said, his body relaxing as the worst case scenarios were unfounded. "Well, that is good to hear. Though I can't say for sure, since I do not know these, uh, batarians, myself."

"I can pretty safely say nobody, or at least anyone I know of, has issues with the Empire beyond some minor complaints."

"I hope you do not mind me saying this, but this all sounds like some sci-fi thriller novel. Aliens kidnapping humans, those humans building an empire while the rest are unaware of it... It's quite a lot to take in."

"I understand. It is an improbable chain of events, but in the end, this is the situation amongst the stars at the moment."

"So how does this all tie back to these...?" Hackett said gesturing towards space and Shanxi uncertainly as he decided to leave the matter of other humans to his superiors.

"Turians," Amathema supplied.

"These turians attacking us?"

"There is a law against opening unactivated Mass Relays without knowing where they lead," Amathema elaborated. "Punishment for breaking such laws are quite severe. Opening a relay once almost lead to destruction of the galactic community."

"Well, we were unaware of such laws, so I don't see how that excuses these turians for coming in guns blazing," Hackett retorted.

"Normally, you would be right. However, the Star Empire knows this law. The turians, seeing that humans were opening a relay, assumed you were part of the Star Empire. We only recently realized that you are not part of the Star Empire, after they notified us that they did not have a colony in this region of space."

_Sloppy,_ Hackett thought. Not even checking to make sure you were going after the right guys? He chalked it down to an overeager commander looking to prove something.

"After the translation softwares were upgraded with your languages, the turians were ordered to pull out and I was dispatched to set up talks. We do hope that this incident has not completely soured your views on alien life," Amathema concluded.

"I see," Hackett said. "So what happens now?"

"First and most importantly, we are hoping to put an end to this conflict before it grows and help you to join the galactic community. Official representatives from the Citadel Council and the Empire are currently en route to formally meet with your representatives."

"You didn't mention what this Citadel Council is, by the way," Hackett added. Was it just a local government, was it some sort of UN analog, was it a governing body like a senate?

"The Citadel is, simply put, the controlling government of half of the galaxy," Amathema said with a smile.

Hackett's mouth, much to his shame, dropped open.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**SSV**__**Makaluka,**_** Shanxi Orbit**

A few days had passed since the asari had contacted the Alliance and called for peace. With knowledge that high level representatives were to arrive, Hackett had quickly called his superiors, who had called for their superiors, and so forth until a diplomat had been sent to Shanxi, alongside reinforcements.

Amathema had warned that each Citadel representative would be arriving with their own ship and told him not to worry about them. It was still worrisome to see four ships, most larger than the largest Alliance ship currently in service, enter the system. The only upside was that they had kept their distance and the first thing they did upon exiting the Mass relays was to request permission to come closer rather than just setting course for Shanxi.

The turian ship had a bird of prey look to it, with 'wings' on its side. The asari vessel was a sleek, curvy blue ship with four fin-like protrusions poking from it. The salarian one was hard to pin down, it seemed like it was a series of tubes put together, not really being sleek like asari, but not quite there with the turians. What, however, interested Hackett the most was the fourth ship, which belonged to the Star Empire. It looked like a flying brick. A flying brick with stubby wings. It also screamed that it could take any Alliance ship and break it in half with its main gun, but even the broadside batteries on the side made Hackett uneasy. The Alliance would need to speed up _Kilimanjaro_ construction; the current _Everest-_classwas too small compared to these to be able to fight them head on.

The meeting had been delayed even with the arrival of the alien diplomats, since it took some time for the Alliance diplomat to arrive. The aliens (and other humans) had been understanding to the situation, fortunately. In the meantime, the Empire had already requested if it was possible to set up routes for pilgrimages who would want to visit Old Jerusalem and other Holy Lands on Earth. Admiral Drescher had responded that it was not for him to decide and asked them to wait politely.

However, with the arrival of the diplomat from Earth, the meeting was scheduled to begin very soon. Hackett had been told to participate, since he had been first one to talk with these aliens. He wasn't really sure what he could do, really, besides maybe chime in or talk to Ambassador Amathema to break the ice.

The meeting was held on board the _SSV Makaluka_, flagship of the Second Fleet. As the door opened to let in five people. Amathema and four representatives entered, including another asari, a walking bird thing that was apparently a turian, a thin alien that somehow reminded Hackett of frogs, and a human. He concluded the frog-like alien was a salarian. Amathema saw Hackett and gave a smile to him, which he wasn't sure if he should respond, merely gesturing to the Alliance ambassador, Ambassador Mendoza. The ambassador gave a wave of his hand before speaking.

"Welcome aboard the _Makaluka_. We apologize for the delay with these talks, but it takes time to travel even with the Mass Relays," Mendoza said.

"We understand," the new asari said. "It is a common issue. Amathema, if you would introduce us?"

"Yes. Representing the Citadel Council are Ambassador Iliam of the Asari Republics, Ambassador Aurelius of the Turian Hierarchy, and Dalatrass Vilk of the Salarian Union. Representing Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem is Duke Walter of House Drake."

"It is good to finally meet our brothers from Earth," the human ambassador said with a warm smile. Hackett was still processing that the man looked like he had stepped out of _Lord of the Rings_ with sci-fi bolted on.

"Yes, quite so. I am Ambassador Mendoza, representing the Systems Alliance. With me are Admiral Drescher and Second Lieutenant Hackett," Mendoza said, gesturing to Drescher and Hackett respectively with the two nodding in response as they were introduced. "Now, if you don't mind me saying so, we would like to know what the Council wants with us. This attack was not the best impression we could get," which was putting it mildly, as Hackett knew there were war hawks who wanted alien blood.

"Yes, we understand this. It is an unfortunate misunderstanding on our part," ambassador Iliam began. "As Amathema explained, the turian battlegroup assumed you were part of the Empire and proceeded with a police action," Iliam explained.

"Invading a world hardly sounds like a police action, if you do not mind me saying so," Mendoza said. "Over a hundred people are dead on our side, not counting the damage from your orbital strikes on urban regions."

"Perhaps," the turian representative admitted. "But at the galactic level, you need something stronger. Fear of retribution for breaking galactic law works better than what is essentially a slap on a wrist," he paused a moment before elaborating further. "If this were an Imperial world, it would be made into a protectorate. However, since it is not and this merely a misunderstanding, the Turian Hierarchy will not be taking any more offensive actions. We pulled out as soon as we realized the situation, and you have our sincerest apologies for this tragedy."

"There will be reparations, of course. We do not expect you to just forget this event with just an apology," Iliam said, earning a glare from Aurelius, but the turian remained silent.

"That is good to hear," Mendoza said, nodding.

"If you do not mind me cutting in here," the human duke spoke, "I wish to say how great a moment this is to our people. We have always dreamed of a day when we could be united with our brothers from Earth. Tell me, how is Earth these days?"

"Little bit overcrowded but access to FTL-travel has been helping on that front," Mendoza said.

"Ah, I see," The duke commented, "I shall speak with our Emperor, perhaps we can show you some areas we have claimed but not yet developed."

"Now, we wish to talk about the Systems Alliance joining us in the galactic community," Iliam spoke up, cutting off the Duke before he could go on further. "The Citadel Alliance is currently the largest governing body of the galaxy. From the first contact package you gave to us, it would be analogues to your United Nations, or even the Systems Alliance and its member states."

"But, if Earth's people joined the Empire, humanity would finally be united and fully represented in the Citadel Alliance," The duke added.

"Yes... I gather you have expected our two nations to merge?" Mendoza asked, raising an eyebrow at the aliens.

"Not truly, after all it has been a long time since your two groups interacted. We were hoping two of you could find some common ground and work together with representing humanity," Iliam explained. "Of course, we do not expect you to join the Citadel right away without heavy consideration. After all, this is a big event for you."

"Thank you for that. But, should we join, why not have our two nations represented separately?" Mendoza asked. "I mean, surely it would be absurd to have newcomers put under another power simply because both are human."

"You do not wish to form an unified state?" the duke asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Surely our two states can exist in some form of union, together, instead of competing over minor things."

"Why is the independence of our two nations an issue?" Mendoza asked, "Surely the two of us can exist side by side. I mean, I'm certain that there's splits in your governments!"

Even as he spoke, however, Hackett had a sinking feeling that the galactic setup was not based on multinational lines.

"Well, you see, that is a kinda funny thing..." the duke said, waving his hand as if to find the right words to explain the situation. He gave up and nodded to the asari ambassador. Iliam was rubbing her forehead before finally speaking again.

"At the moment each Citadel species are represented as one group. One representative," Iliam explained. "There has never been two representatives from any one species."

"I fail to see how this would be problematic," Mendoza said in confusion.

"If humans get two representatives, why not everyone else?" Aurelius cut in. "How would these be divided? There is only one turian representative, representing the one turian state - the Turian Hierarchy. But the asari have dozens if not hundreds of small republics, should they all get a representative, thus being able to outvote everyone else?" he explained before raising one talon. "One species. One representative. That's the rule."

"I see," Mendoza said, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands together. "And the Empire already represents humanity?"

"For the last four hundred years," the duke answered, regaining some of his confidence. "A thousand years if you count since our ancestors were abducted, though the Empire didn't exist then... yet."

"And we can't join the Citadel Alliance unless we become part of the Empire?" Mendoza asked, raising an eyebrow. "We would like to work with the galactic community, but if the rules are such then..."

"The Empire has it's own wishes, but for the moment the Council is not forcing anything on you," Iliam cut in before he could finish the statement. "As a first step, you would be granted observer status within the Citadel Alliance. This would be a time for you to observe the benefits you could gain from joining. Observer status would not bind you to joining the Citadel, but it would let you observe the proceedings and allow the Systems Alliance to gain first hand knowledge of the benefits that being with the Citadel entails, and a taste for the responsibilities. If you were to decide to fully commit to joining the Citadel, then we would need to speak about how to arrange the representation between yourselves and the Empire."

"I do not believe there would be any major issues," the duke said, smiling weakly. "I am confident that whatever issues are raised, can be solved diplomatically," Hackett noticed from how uncomfortable the duke was becoming that the meeting had clearly not been going like he had been anticipating.

"I will talk with our leaders and let you know," Mendoza answered with a slow nod. "But that is the most that I can promise at this stage."

"Understandable," Vilk said at last. "Only a fool jumps in with only half the information. However, a basic groundwork for integration and diplomatic channels should be established swiftly as so to prevent further incidents as have already occurred."

"I understand. I will ask my superiors to put a check on expansion while this occurs, though in the meantime I would ask for kid's gloves in dealing with any incidents as there will be lag time for news to spread around."

"We can grant a short stay on this," Illiam said, "though we will ask that you enforce our biggest laws - no opening relays without knowing the other side, for one - in the meantime."

Mendoza paused for a moment before nodding. "I'll ask that we put a halt to that and I'll explain why. Again, there may be a delay for news to get out."

"We understand. We will instruct our patrols to be extra careful and always check the nationality. Thank you, Ambassador. If there is nothing to discuss immediately…"

"I had few things, but the situation is clearly not the one that had been expected and as such, they can wait until a later time," the duke said. "I hope we will meet again, in better circumstances."

"Nothing more," Vilk said.

"We will need to discuss the details of the reparations, but that can afford to wait," Aurelius commented. Somewhat sourly, but Hackett had a hard time blaming him. He would have to explain why taxpayer dollars (or whatever the aliens used) would not only go to military efforts but paying to repair the damage done by said efforts.

Iliam nodded and the meeting adjourned. Hackett found himself rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as the representatives left. Once they were all gone, Mendozza leaned back in his chair and the room was silent until finally he slammed his fists against the table.

"A real fucking mess," he said, earning a raised eyebrow from the admiral. "I read the first contact package while I was heading here. A theocratic absolute monarchy. The people back on Earth would never accept such an arrangement. Sharing representation with them would just put us in conflict with them by dogma. Yet, we can't let these people be representatives of humanity in the galaxy. They are not even from Earth anymore!"

"I still can't believe that they didn't have a plan to deal with multiple nations," Drescher commented.

"That's because other than the asari - the blue woman's people - they're more or less unified into one government. And the asari had an arrangement to share the representation. If the Empire didn't exist, the Alliance would automatically get the position. But with the Empire, it's now in question."

"Brilliant," Drescher said with a sigh. "I am worried about their military, though. You saw that dreadnought. It was bigger than anything we got and from the bits of alien tech General Williams' men managed to grab, more advanced than ours." He sighed. "Only _Kilimanjaro _is about the same size as one of those Citadel ships, and that isn't out of the dock yet. Hell, it doesn't even have its main gun ready! If this 'Star Empire' decides to force the issue, we might not have the military strength to repel them. And that's not counting the Council..."

"The Council seemed to be reasonable and I don't think violent expansion is in their agenda. The Empire? Given they have a stake, that's more uncertain, but I don't think they'll launch an invasion unless we provoke them first."

"Still, it couldn't hurt to see about getting our hands on this Citadel's tech and implementing it for our next gen ship classes," Drescher commented thoughtfully. "Maybe a defense budget increase."

"If only because we now know for sure that there are external parties rather than infighting. The real problem, though, is going to be the Empire's head start in diplomacy. Trade, bureaucratic inertia, reputation… we need to get out there. Start building up a network of trade partners and allies. We need to prove that we're a legitimate human government. Or failing that, show people that the Empire does not completely represent humanity and they can't apply their standards to us," he sighed. "Though if we are lucky, the Empire has been a reliable trading partner and we can ride on that reputation, to a degree."

"A tall order. Any idea where to start?"

"I'm going to advise we take up the Council's offer," Mendoza said after taking a moment to think. "At least for now, since it's just observer status and not actually committing. We can see if the Citadel is right for us or not, but we can't cut ourselves off from them unnecessarily. Besides, we'll need access to their collective knowledge to catch up to the Empire."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Hackett asked. Drescher nodded. "How are we going to break this to people back home? 'Very Carefully' is _not_ going to cut it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Three Weeks Later**

**Imperial Palace, Nod**

"The Systems Alliance is forming a parliament?" Emperor Titus asked with a frown as he read the datapad. His assistant was currently taking a blood sample to see the status of his vitals.

"They are," Crown Prince Baldwin said as he took a step away from his father and stood next to his brother, Abdul-Rahman.

"An interim government, no doubt, to keep order while we figure how to integrate their society into the Empire," Titus said after a while as the assistant finished what he was doing and was transferring data with his omni-tool.

Baldwin gave his brother an uneasy look. "I'm not sure they're planning on it being short term," he finally said as he activated his omni-tool and brought up the speech from the Alliance's first prime minister. Titus leaned forward to observe as the speech began.

"_Thank you,"_ the man on the podium in the recording said, _"members of the United Nations Security Council. Your work will not be forgotten as humanity enters a new age, and a new government forms,"_ he paused and looked to the camera. _"We are not alone in the galaxy, as we have discovered in the orbit of Shanxi. But we are not surrounded by enemies, but other nations. Just as the United Nations transformed to meet the challenges of space, now the Systems Alliance must transform to meet the new circumstances we find ourselves in…"_

The speech began to drone on for a bit, rather verbosely and unnecessarily in Baldwin's opinion, and it went on for another few minutes before he finally got to the point.

"_Therefore, as your first Prime Minister, I hereby begin the first meeting of the Systems Alliance Parliament. This body shall act as the government of Earth and her colonies, representing its people in both internal affairs and to foreign nations across the stars. Together, we will blaze a new trail for humanity…"_

"This... this is an INSULT!" Emperor Titus shouted, throwing the datapad on the table before leaning back on his chair, causing Baldwin to pause the speech. "Not only do they not recognize my authority, they dare to create this... parliament and declare it the legitimate government of man!"

Baldwin and Abdul looked at each other uneasily. They knew how well their father was taking this news.

"Father, I do not think they planned to insult you," Baldwin said, speaking up uncertainly, moving his hand towards the play button to continue.

"Oh? Then what is this!?" Titus demanded, stopping Baldwin from hitting the play button. "Not only do they spit in my face, but on God's face! The Emperor is ruler of all mankind by God's mandate. It is my _duty_ to rule and protect humanity!"

"Yes, father," Abdul said as he stepped forward. "Yet, we must understand that these people are not us. They are-"

"God forsaken infidels," the Emperor spat, curling his hand into a fist. "We had one Prophet - ONE gift from God - and we managed to pull together. They had hundreds, and who knows how many more charlatans, and they still fight amongst themselves. I will _not _accept this. I want ambassadors send and want them make clear that this... this Alliance of theirs is to submit to _my_ authority," he shouted, standing up.

"I doubt they would dissolve their new government just like that," Baldwin said, stepping forward as he saw the terrible consequences of a militant stance early. His omni-tool's holographic display faded from idleness. "They are just adjusting to the shock of us being here. Give them some time, they had no idea that our forefathers survived."

"They can keep their petty parliament, I shall treat it like a noble House, but they _must_ recognize my authority. I will not be remembered as the Emperor who failed to unite mankind! I will not be remembered as a weak Emperor!" Titus shouted before collapsing in a coughing fit, covering his mouth. His sons ran to his side, helping to steady him until the fit ended. Titus laid a hand on his chest with a tired sigh. "I will retire for the day," he finally said, all strength gone from his voice. "I want those ambassadors sent and this mess taken care of."

"We... will take care of it, father," Baldwin assured as the Emperor of the Star Empire rose and left the room, an attendant following him and calling for the doctor to prescribe the evening medication. Baldwin let out a sigh as his father left earshot. "He is taking this personally. He is letting his emotions cloud his judgement again."

"A year ago this would have not been such a problem, mom would have been able to calm him down," Abdul said with a long sigh. "He is still grieving. He has been so focused on leaving a legacy behind. His age isn't helping at all."

"I just fear that this legacy of his won't be the one he wants it to be," Baldwin said, rubbing his neck as he remembered how many aliens viewed Kadar the Third after the Batarian Crusade. "I just hope this all is solved soon. I would not want this problem thrown on my lap; I'm not sure if I could handle it."

"Still, I have to wonder, why do these Earth humans resist us so much? I kinda expected them to gleefully join us in the stars," Abdul said, scratching his chin. "I mean, it's all part of the God's plan, right?"

"God works in mysterious ways. Maybe it's a test? I do not know," Baldwin said and waved his hand. "In the end, it does not matter. We can't prevent father from trying to aggressively make them join us, but we can try to mitigate the damage from this. I am going to try to learn as much as I can about Earth and its history. This might be just a knee jerk reaction from them. It is quite shocking to find that there is already a sizable portion of your species in space."

"You do that. I will try to talk to our father and have him calm down," Abdul nodded. "Though I don't think there is much learn, they can't be _that _different, right? They are humans after all."

"Maybe," Baldwin said as he looked down at his idled out omni-tool and moved his hand closer to it, reactivating the display and letting the recording continue. The Alliance's Prime Minister picked up exactly where the recording had been paused.

"_... and will continue to chart our course forward until such a time that the people of the Systems Alliance believes that a new path must be taken in the road of governance."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Authors' Note:** _This story is a multi-writer project, and I am posting its end on Fanfiction dot net. The main three in this project is Mandemon, Teen Spirit, and myself, over on the Spacebattles forum. Much of this prologue and the Codex entries below were written by Mandemon, with both of us adding to the core structure and correcting typos._

_This story began as a simple musing by Teen Spirit, then exploded into a much larger project as ideas were put up for the concept. However, as with all fanfiction, we do not own the Mass Effect series. That belongs to EA. The batarians owned some Crusaders a millennium ago, but that ended badly for them._

_Codex Entries are also available for those who wish to read them, and will be included at the end of every chapter if applicable. While not required, it is a way for us to go into details in the AU setting without having to stop the fic to explain it. However, anything you require for the story itself will be explained there in brief._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem**

The Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem is composed of the descendants of humans captured by batarian slavers in 1692 GS (Galactic Standard), who managed to overpower their captors and crash landed on the salarian colony of Dinalin. The Citadel offered its assistance to the dislocated humans after being informed of their situation. While initially mistrustful and superstitious of Citadel species, the humans eventually accepted the aid after suffering food poisoning from local flora. The Citadel Council was unable to trace back the route used by the slavers or locate the homeworld of the humans. As such, they were offered a small planet to colonize.

The Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem is highly religious nation, with it's main religion being the Faith of Abraham, formed after the appearance of the prophet Peter the Second. His speech of ending the schism of three former conflicting religions, (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and of how it was wrong for God's children to hold such deep divisions lead to a merging of the three into a singular religion. This event is generally held as the birth date of the Empire, though its formal founding was not until later. The Empire is ruled by the Emperor, who is both head of the Holy Church Of The One God and is said to receive an heavenly mandate to rule over the Empire and humanity. Imperial missionaries are a common sight in Terminus Systems, though their official presence is limited. The Empire is also widely held as an aggressive nation, particularly after their Crusade against the Batarian Hegemony from 2412 to 2422 GS.

**Codex: Relay 314 Incident**

The Relay 314 Incident, also known as the First Contact War by the Systems Alliance, was a two week long conflict over the colony of Shanxi. A turian patrol, meeting Alliance vessels activating a relay, opened fire on the humans and followed the survivors to the colony of Shanxi, which they proceeded to occupy as a police action. The situation was soon resolved however, when the Turian Hierarchy informed the Council and the Star Empire of the Empire's supposed violation of Citadel Law and the occupation of Shanxi. Surprised, the Empire responded that it did not have such a colony. Realizing the mistake that had occurred, the turians withdrew and a ceasefire was soon established and peace followed, with the Systems Alliance being granted observer status in the Citadel until their decision to seek affiliate status. The turian reparations for the incident came quickly, helping smooth over the issues that could arise from it between the Systems Alliance and Turian Hierarchy, with Primarch Fedorian saying _"The occupation of Shanxi was a mistake, one born of upholding duty. Therefore, it is also our duty to repair the damage from this mistake."_

**Codex: The Human Situation**

The Human Situation refers to the political situation involving the Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem and the Systems Alliance. While the two sides do not have official grievances, the appearance of the Systems Alliance on the galactic stage has raised questions over which one is to be the representative of humanity on the Citadel. The Empire holds that it has the right, due to its long membership, whereas the System Alliance claims that the Empire speaks only for itself, but the Alliance represents a larger variety of human traits and hold that the Empire is only a fraction of humanity's history yanked out of its context. The Empire holds that the Alliance has strayed from "the grace of God" and seeks to absorb Alliance into itself. The Alliance, while officially having no position in the matter, refuses to acknowledge the Emperor's status as the Emperor of Mankind and also rejects the Faith of Abraham as a state religion.

The Alliance holds that it is ready to accept a two nation solution, with both nations being represented as separate political entities with their own embassies and representation. However, this has raised issues of humanity gaining too much representation compared to other species, or even Council species. The Empire holds that there is only one Humanity to represent and they are already representing it and urges the Alliance to merge with the Empire to prevent needless complications in Citadel law.

However, the recently crowned Emperor Baldwin the Third has lessened Empire's stance somewhat and has stated that he is open for a possible joint representation. The Alliance has yet to officially state their stance on the offer as Emperor Titus' hardline stance has left relations between the two human states frosty.


	2. Priority: Eden Prime

**Twenty Six Years After First Contact**

**2183 CE (2683 GS)**

_**SSV Normandy**_

"So, what was the deal with us taking an extra trip through the Citadel?" Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams asked the pilot of the new_ SSV Normandy_, folding her arms as she stood behind his chair.

"Beats me. All I know is we stopped there and somebody came aboard," the pilot said, his hands flying all across the holoscreens as he talked. "Maybe some admiral or something wanting to do an inspection. I was too busy adjusting the engines to sneak a peak."

"_Commander Williams, you there?_" a voice from the intercom spoke.

"In the cockpit, sir," she answered as she tapped the nearby intercom access.

"_Report to my quarters, ASAP."_

"Yes sir," Ashley said as the connection cut off and the interface blinked out.

"Ooh, mysterious visits to the seat of galactic government and calls to the captain's quarters," the pilot said sarcastically as he glanced up at her. "Maybe we've become, like, spies! Or the captain wants to defect to the Empire with this new fancy bauble to win over the Emperor."

"Right, and I am the next Spectre," Ashley retorted, snorting at the idea. "Take care, Joker."

"You too," Joker said as Ashley turned to leave, still adjusting and double checking the _Normandy's_ systems with the holoscreens.

It didn't take Ashley long to reach her destination a deck below, passing by an off duty Pressley and Chakwas discussing the new dextro-amino medical supplies and the implications thereof. A turn to the left, and she was in the main mess hall of the ship where Lieutenant Alenko was fiddling with an interface to the right of her destination. The door opened and she stepped into the captain's quarters on board the _Normandy_. Anderson had called her suddenly, which was never good sign from her experience. She saluted Anderson.

"Commander Williams reporting, sir."

"At ease, LC," Anderson said, returning the salute and Ashley relaxed. "Good thing you came so soon, I actually get to tell this to you first."

"Sir?"

"As you know, our last visit was to the Citadel, as per the request of Ambassador Udina. He had... interesting news to tell me. The Alliance has been pushing to having our own representation, separate from the Empire. There's been some high level talks recently, and now we might just have our first step to be fully considered separate from the Empire," Anderson explained, picking up a datapad from the table and handing it to Ashley. "They agreed to accept one Spectre from the Alliance. The Empire grumbled about it little bit, but didn't push the issue. Still, the Council is presenting a compromise: two Spectres, one from us, one from them."

"That is great, sir, but how does that relate to me?" Ashley asked, looking down at the data pad and immediately freezing as she saw the Spectre insignia on it over a link to a dossier...

"You have been chosen as a candidate."

"What?!" she shouted as the realization hit her like she had been caught goldbricking on Titan. "Sir, I've only recently started my N7 training! How would I…" she paused as a bemused look crossed Anderson's face and she recovered. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted. And yes, it's because of your grandfather. Consider it... a payback," Anderson said with a grin. "And no, I didn't do this, this was done by the higher ups; Admiral Hackett, actually."

Somehow a Shanxi veteran suggesting it did not surprise her. "So, what now?"

"Well, we picked up a Spectre and a Spectre candidate from the Empire while we were on the Citadel. Here's how the system works: each candidate is paired with another from the other state while one Spectre is to observe and evaluate who should be considered for the position," Anderson explained as she looked over the details on the datapad. "We've got our people on their ships, working alongside Imperial candidates and since you got selected, we get to house you and your pair," someone hit the door chime. "That must be them," he hit a key on his console and the door opened.

Ashley turned around and saw a turian and a human female walking in. The turian was wearing a black set of advanced battle armor with red highlights, a shotgun latched to his back and a sidearm on his hip. The human, on the other hand, had a sword and was wearing what looked like black plate mail armor from centuries that had long since passed, but Ashley recognized the specific armor pattern immediately from the news and various intel reports. Knight Hospitaller armor with a tabard showing their heraldry - a white Maltese cross.

"Sorry we're late, Captain Anderson. I didn't believe it was possible to get lost in a frigate," the turian said with a slight shrug. Ashley tensed her body defensively out of instinct, though he sounded quite friendly.

"Quite so. The design is... interesting," the human said as Ashley found herself analyzing her counterpart like this was a threat identification test in basic. "Feels more like an oversized fighter than a warship; and that is a good thing. Never underestimate importance of maneuverability."

"Nice to see you again, Nihlus," Anderson greeted with a smile to the turian. "Commander Williams, this is Spectre Nihlus. Accompanying him is..." Anderson stopped for a moment and the human bowed.

"Sir Etel, of House Shepard, of the Order of Hospitallers," she introduced herself before pausing with a faint curl of her lip before straightening up.

"You're from Empire?" Ashley asked, unable to shake the absurdity of knights in the modern day from her mind. Even growing up knowing the Empire had them did little to make it seem less absurd to her.

"I am here as a servant of the Council first and foremost. Whatever grievances our two nations have shall not impede me in my line of duty," she explained as she held her hands open. "I am not here to cause trouble."

"Well, you're not a servant of Council just yet, but do well and I will put your name forward," Nihlus said. Ashley was sure that if he was human, Nihlus would have had a faint smirk.

"Yes sir," Shepard said, adjusting the collar of the tabard over her armor as Nihlus looked over to her.

"The same for you, Commander Williams. This is no contest and I will be evaluating both of you based on your merits, not who's the better of the pair."

"I understand," Ashley answered with a nod as she took a closer look at the sword Shepard had a sword hanging from her waist. It wasn't one of the modernized ones used by some members of Alliance special forces for stealth kills, but an old fashioned broadsword. "You people still use swords?" she asked, pointing at the scabbard. "I would of thought that K-Barriers would have made the normal ones more or less useless."

"Mostly ceremonial, to be honest. I am to return it to the Hospitallers, should I be inducted among the Spectres," Shepard said, waving her hand casually. "The Order was not keen on me leaving them, despite the honor this would bring to my House."

"Quite so. Your grandmaster was quite insistent that you shouldn't join Spectres," Nihlus said before turning back to Ashley and walking over. "Congratulations on your candidacy, Commander. Very few are even considered for the position and even fewer are chosen as a Spectre. To be chosen as a candidate, even if you do not become a Spectre, is a great honor. A sign of your skills," he explained and he extended his hand. Ashley took it and the two shook. She then turned to Shepard, curious to see the reaction and saw that her Imperial counterpart was shaking her head, leaving the N6 wondering what was wrong as Anderson spoke up.

"Now that the introductions are done, let's get this show on the road," Anderson's voice shook her from the idle wondering. "Our first job is to oversee the transfer of a recently discovered Prothean artifact to Council representatives. Requested by the Council and approved by the Alliance," he added as Ashley raised an eyebrow.

"Correct," Nihlus said. "I shall contact the Citadel and report that we are heading for the first mission. Captain, Commander," Nihlus nodded to them and turned to leave. Shepard activated her omni-tool to check something.

"It's almost 1500, Nod time. If you would excuse me, I should retreat to somewhere quiet to carry out my prayers."

"Go ahead. The sleeping pods should be empty at this time," Anderson said as he glanced to his left, the direction of the sleeping pods on the other side of the wall.

"Thank you, Captain," She said. "With your permission?"

"Well, I'm not your superior, but dismissed," Anderson said, an amused smirk crossing his face.

"You are still the captain of the vessel and thus, you outrank me," Shepard said, giving a short bow and leaving. After she left, Ashley turned to Anderson and had to fight to stop the alarm klaxon blaring that had been in her mind from turning into insubordination.

"Sir, is this wise?" Ashley asked worriedly.

"Wise to do what?" Anderson asked as he turned to look at her.

"This ship is top of the line in the Alliance Navy, loaded with the latest and best equipment we have. Is it really wise to let outsiders, especially from the _Star Empire_, walk around freely? Not to mention aliens."

"I was worried about that too, at first, but considering that this ship was developed with the turians, I think the Turian Hierarchy and the Council already know everything they want to know," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The Empire... well, I might not be sure about this 'Sir' Shepard, but the dossier Nihlus sent me indicated that she would not turn into a spy for the Empire while a Spectre candidate. Something to the effect of not being honorable."

"It's still a security risk."

"Perhaps. We will keep eye on them, though. You, on the other hand, need to get familiar with the mission briefing. This is your big chance," Anderson said, pointing at her and then the datapad. "This is a big deal for us, for _you_. While they might have dropped the official charges against your grandfather, this is the point where you can show those idiots back on Earth that Williams is a good name to have."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir," Ashley said automatically.

"Besides, maybe you can get someone to talk religion with you," Anderson said with a grin not unlike that of a schoolboy about to see a playground brawl.

"Sir, I doubt me and Shepard have much common," Ashley almost rolled her eyes at the implication. "The Star Empire's, shall we say, a little bit too eager with their religion. You know, Emperor Titus stating his only acceptable solution and all. Even with the new Emperor lessening the stance."

"Still, you never know. Ever since First Contact, the Alliance and Empire have been keeping a distance between ourselves. It's quite possible our first impressions were not the best," Anderson said as he glanced towards the direction of the sleeping pods again. "Still, not being antagonistic towards her would work a lot towards making you a Spectre. Compromising and all."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, Ashley was eating her meal alongside Kaidan. She had just finished telling him about the recent events. Kaidan scratched his chin before speaking.

"Well, can't say I saw this one coming. From a grandchild of an almost-disgraced general to potential Spectre. Planning to become a Councilor too?" he said, earning a thrown nutrient pellet for his joke.

"Ha ha, leave the joking to Joker," Ashley said. "And no, I don't plan to become a Councilor. I'm a soldier, not a politician. God help me if I ever have to play politics," she shook her head before looking up and noticing Shepard picking up her meal from the cook and walking to the table.

"Would you mind if I sit with you?" she asked. Ashley looked at Kaidan, who shrugged, before gesturing to the seat next to her. "Thank you."

"Kaidan, this is Sir Shepard, a Knight Hospitaller and our new teammate for the evaluation time. Sir Shepard, this is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. He is our biotic support and the field medic."

"Nice to meet you," Shepard said, extending her hand across the table for a shake. "And you can just call me Shepard. I was under assumption your people do not use aristocratic titles anymore?"

"Normally no, but I was thinking of being polite," Ashley explained.

"Shepard will be fine."

"So, Shepard, where in the Empire are you from?" Kaidan asked, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his forehead briefly.

"I'm the fourth child of Duke John Shepard. We have nice claim in Aramis system, a planet called Akko. It's been under terraforming for the last thirty years, but it's not a bad place," Shepard answered as she began poking her food with her fork. "We are hoping to introduce some plants to it in few months and maybe finally dismantle the dome and make it an open space colony."

"So, you're a noble?" Ashley asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"Technically yes, though I am more likely going to be remembered by my Aristocratic merits," she explained. "So, what about our captain? Is he a Noble or an Aristocrat? I know Alliance Marines address superiors as Sir, no matter how big the difference, but I want to make sure. What about yourself, Commander? As I recall, you grandfather was a general and responsible for a planet."

"Umm..." Kaidan said awkwardly, looking at Ashley before giving her a slight nod.

"We... um... We don't have a nobility system. So I guess everyone is a commoner?" Ashley said slowly as she tried to figure out how to put it. "I'm not sure how it translates, but there's no real nobility in the legal system anymore."

"I could of sworn there were some still around in at least one of the nations on Earth. Japan, I believe?"

"Technically, maybe. But really it's a democracy, just with a few holdovers," Ashley explained. "Besides, it's not unique in that. But most monarchies and the like on Earth are ceremonial at best. Democracy has become the predominant form of government."

Shepard nodded slowly. "And how's that been working out?"

"Democracy might be the worst form of government to some people," Kaidan cut in, "but its better than everything else we've tried."

"Huh?"

"He's paraphrasing Winston Churchill," Ashley answered. "Wartime politician in the 1940s - common era," Shepard still looked confused. "More or less _Anno Domini_."

"Ah," Shepard nodded. "So, I got to tell about myself. What about you?"

"Well, I'm the oldest of the four children, and I've been serving under Captain Anderson for the past ten years. He has been a great mentor too," Ashley explained. "Not much to really tell. My family has always been in Alliance military, so yeah. Why not?"

"I guess that is better reason than not being expected to achieve anything," Shepard said, finally tasting the food, her face switching between several expression before swallowing and her face settling in confused expression. "What is this? I thought the thing they served on board the _COS Judgement_ was strange, but this?"

"Huh?" Ashley said, tasting her own food again. "I don't taste anything weird. It's chicken, with some nutrient pellets on the side."

"Chicken? Some animal from Earth?" Shepard asked, taking a cautious bite again.

"Yeah. A sort of bird that can't fly," Kaidan explained. Shepard cautiously poked her food again. "And no, that is not what it normally looks like. It's a synthetic version. Those always taste worse than the real deal."

"I see... At least it isn't varren meat," Shepard said with a shrug. "Ever tasted varren?" Both Ashley and Kaidan shook their heads. "Trust me, it's bad. No matter what sort of sauce you put it into, no matter how you cook it... ugh."

"We'll uh, keep that in mind," Kaidan said uncertainly, finishing his meal. "See you later, Ash," he said before getting up and leaving.

"So, a knight, huh?" Ashley asked as Kaidan left, starting to feel curious herself. "So, what do Knights Hospitallers do?"

"The Knights Hospitaller are primarily focused on military efforts to protect people. So, we hunt down slavers, bust criminal organizations, provide protection to colonies, and so forth. We're not officially part of the Imperial Army, however," Shepard explained before cautiously taking another bite of chicken, twisting her neck briefly as she swallowed. "Hmm; the Alliance doesn't have Chivalric Orders, so how to best explain them..."

"Something like mercenary outfits?" Ashley offered. From what she knew, it was the closest analogy.

"Not the proper analogy, but that's a good way to look at it. We don't get paid for our efforts, though the Hospitallers gets lots of donations and the Empire supports us since we are an officially recognized Chivalric Order," Shepard explained. "The Hospitallers are more concerned in battle against injustice than running other services. God may protect us, but He also wants us to protect ourselves. What good would it do if we are reliant on God's protection all the time? We would grow weak."

"God is mysterious like that," Ashley said, finishing her meal before noticing that Shepard was studying her much closer than she had been before.

"You're a convert?" Shepard finally asked. "I didn't see you praying."

"No. I believe in God, but I'm not of the Star Empire's denomination," Ashley explained cooly. "Most of us don't pray on a schedule. Seems... superficial to pray just because it's a certain time of day. You should only pray if you really have something to say," she shrugged.

"Hmm... I can't really comment since theology is not my speciality," Shepard said, tapping the table thoughtfully. "Though, there are some who would take this as a big issue. If you're ever travelling Empire side, just be careful who you talk to."

"Thanks, I think."

"You're welcome. In an unrelated question though, do you know where the armory is? I was hoping that you have a shooting range there. I want to test my weapons and make sure everything is calibrated."

"Downstairs, take the elevator. Just don't head behind it when you get down, that's engineering. Be sure to talk with Jenkins, he's on armory duty and can set up targets," Ashley explained, picking up her tray and standing. "I might join you later, I've got my own guns to adjust."

"I look forward to it," Shepard said before returning to her meal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sometime later, Ashley decided it was time to do the daily calibrations on the weapons, whether or not Shepard would be there. As she walked towards the elevator that would take her to the lower levels, she ran into Jenkins, a rookie who seemed to have more energy than anyone else.

"Oh, hi Commander!" Jenkins said, "So, what's going on? Eden Prime doesn't sound like a place that would interest Spectres."

"Can't really say, Richard," Ashley replied, using his first name to clue him in he was able to speak freely.

"Really? Come on, something is going on. We got a Spectre, a real Spectre onboard as well as a religious nutball," Jenkins retorted, "Spectres are the best of the best! They don't send them out for nothing! And why would there be an imp with him?"

"Imp?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Imp, you know… Imperial. Shorthand, like, 'You crazy imp'," He paused before shrugging. "But yeah. Why would Nihlus need someone from the Empire?"

"That's the Council's job to decide. And while I understand some might not like the Empire, we are still soldiers and expected to act like it. So don't go calling our guest 'a religious nutball', okay?"

"Sure, sure. I mean, it's just, come on! They live like they're in the twelfth century! Emperors and knights and all that?"

"Japan is still technically an empire with an emperor as the head of government," Ashley noted.

"Yeah, and they're still a lot more modern than this Empire of Jerusalem,"Jenkins scoffed, "It's just, it's like looking at the worst time of the history with them you know? I wouldn't be surprised if their so-called 'commoners' are just a tools for their nobility to enjoy lazy life."

"Well, can't comment much on that. I never really studied Empire's social structure, a part from few things. All I know they got their three tiered system and that's it. Besides, not much we can do about it."

"Maybe, but I don't like them. I like my freedoms. I don't like them pushing us to abandon them," Jenkins muttered.

"Jenkins, don't make me pull rank on you. Zip the thoughts, smile and shake hands and let someone else deal with them, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Jenkins said, giving a salute and leaving.

Ashley just shook her head, the kid wasn't bad, but tended to swing from one extreme opinion to another. Ashley called up the elevator and headed down to the combined cargo hold/armory. She saw that the quartermaster had already helped Shepard put up a simple holographic shooting range with some spare crates set up to catch stray rounds. Shepard was tinkering with her rifle's scope, before taking aim and firing a short burst.

"Everything cool down here?" Ashley asked as she walked to her locker as Shepard let the heat vent from her rifle.

"Hm? Oh, hello commander. Everything is okay. Just some minor misalignment in the scope. Shouldn't be too bad, though I never really had a knack for weapon maintenance. I'm better at wrecking things than fixing them."

"I see..." Ashley said, picking up her own rifle and starting the maintenance procedure, "So, can I ask you one thing?"

"Yes, but I can't promise I will answer depending the question."

"Plate mail? Really?"

"Just looks like it. It's mostly symbolic. In reality, this armor houses kinetic barriers, omni-tools, fully sealed for hazards, the works. Everything needed by a modern soldier."

"Still, I remember reading plate mail was rather... cumbersome."

"Maybe in the past, but the ones issued to Chivalric Orders are custom made and only look the part, not act it. The materials are modern. Of course, the extra centimeter is appreciated when barriers are down. It just might save your life."

"Uh-huh," Ashley said, begin to adjust the mods for her weapon, "So, what sort of rifle is that? Never seen one before."

"This one?" Shepard asked, lifting the rifle, "Thunder IV, made by... I think it's Haliat Armory? Order buys from them mostly. It's turian designed, excess weapons so not the best there is, but works for me. What about you?"

"Bog standard Lancer," she answered as she curled her lip, looking down at it. "Well, a Lancer V, but its had some modifications."

Shepard's eyebrow raised. "Good with weapon maintenance and modification?"

"More or less; first thing Alliance soldiers learn about their guns is how to maintain them and how to correct the flaws. The Lancer series is good and solid, but new stuff always has small oversights."

"Suppose so. Don't know if it works until you try it out," Shepard looked down the scope of her rifle and fired a few rounds into the holographic dummy, the kinetic barriers around it flashing to absorb the rounds. "So, I haven't seen you in armor yet. What kind do you use?"

"Got old Sirta Foundation gear back in basic; Phoenix line armor," She winced as she remembered the remarks she got when wearing it. "Color scheme was terrible, but the extra medi-gel was a welcome boost."

"I thought Sirta Foundation made medicine, not war materials," Shepard said with a frown. "Though, what color scheme?"

"White for the most part."

"That's not so…"

"Over pink."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, not sure who came up with the idea of pink battle armor," Ashley shivered. "I'm just glad I upgraded. The Onyx series might not have the extra medi-gel, but it actually stops bullets a lot better," Ashley nodded as she finished fitting in the adjusted scope and checked the extra heat sink and nodded to herself. "You mind?" she asked as she nodded to the dummy.

"Go ahead, I should probably let this cool off," Shepard stepped out of the way and Ashley took her position, unloading the rifle into the dummy and mentally counting how long it lasted before it overheated and started beeping insistently at her. She smiled as she let go of the trigger; sixty shots before it overheated. _Good thing the cooldown system works mid-firing,_ she thought.

"Upgraded heat sink?" Shepard asked as Ashley made sure the heat vent was fully opened and ejecting properly. "I really hope you don't shoot until you're overheating during a firefight."

"Not in most cases," Ashley answered. "Though it is a good idea to know how many shots you can get if you lay it down."

"True," the two paused and it was silent in the engineering bay save for Adams checking on the Mako. Shepard pulled out her shotgun and took a few shots downrange, muttering angrily as the shots went wide and Ashley's omni-tool chirped.

"Williams here," she answered as Shepard waited for the shotgun to cool down.

"_You might want to get up to the crew deck, Jenkins and Alenko are about to try something,"_ it was Chakwas, and she sounded rather amused at the whole scenario.

"I'm on my way up," Ashley answered. Shepard glanced to her and gave her a nod, and Ashley left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A Few Hours Later**

Ashley stood in the cockpit of the _Normandy_, watching the ship approaching the relay. She didn't know where Shepard or Nihlus had gone, but she assumed that Shepard was still downstairs checking her weapons.

"Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence,"Joker said as she could make out the object glowing in the distance.

"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination... The relay is hot, acquiring the approach vector," Joker continued on as the relay drew closer and seemed to glow brighter. "All stations secure for transit."

Ashley sat down on an empty chair. While the mass effect could reduce the inertia to the point of nothing, there were still enough stories of people falling on their butts as a result of a relay jump, even if Ashley had never had it happen to her.

Nihlus joined them in the cockpit at this point, watching as Joker and Kaidan worked their consoles. Ashley began to check the status of the ship. She did not understand much of it beyond broad scopes she had picked up by proverbial osmosis, but at least she looked like she was busy.

"The board is green. The approach run has begun." The relay was more or less dominating the viewport and the automatic visual dampeners were activating to prevent the light from being blinding. "Hitting the relay in 3... 2... 1..." A bolt jumped out of the core of the relay, enveloping the ship as the world blueshifted.

For a moment, the world outside looked like a series of lines, moving from blue to red. Just as quickly it had happened, it ended, and they were hurtling through what looked like a blue fog cloud.

"Thrusters check, navigation, check. Internal emission sink engaged. All systems online Drift..." Joker reported, pausing for a moment to check some value. "Just under 1,500 k."

"1,500 is good. Your captain will be pleased," Nihlus said with a nod. "Commander," Nihlus said to her and left.

"I hate that guy," Joker said once the turian was out of earshot.

"What, 'cause he complimented you?" Ashley said, standing up and taking the spot Nihlus had been standing in.

"When you remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us across the galaxy for to a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible."

"Right, and nobody else in the galaxy does that," Ashley rolled her eyes at the pilot bravado. "Especially not since it's the keystone of interplanetary travel."

"Besides," Joker continued on unabated by the sarcasm, "Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him or that Empire gal onboard. Call me paranoid."

"Paranoid? What, nobody clued you in?" Kaidan asked in surprise.

"On what?"

"Nothing," Ashley said, shaking her head to Kaidan. The biotic nodded in response.

"Hey, no leaving the guy in charge of piloting a ship out of potentially dangerous things," Joker demanded. "I wanna know if I need to start breaking galactic speed records. And don't think I can't - I more or less stole the _Normandy_ to test it!"

Ashley and Kaidan both rolled their eyes - this was not the first time Joker had bragged about that.

"It's just a pick up mission," Kaidan finally said. "You read the reports everyone was given. Go to Eden Prime, pick up a prothean artifact, head to the Citadel, drop it off."

"Yeah, but why a Spectre and an Imperial soldier?" Joker asked as his display beeped and he brought up a report on the engines before minimizing it again. "Why the _Normandy_, a top of the line prototype ship? Don't we have, I don't know, cargo ships for this? When they told me I was going to be pilot of _Normandy_ they didn't tell me we were a courier service. Unless this is Anderson's idea of punishment..."

"Technically, the Empire soldier is a knight. Yeah, I know," Ashley added as Joker turned around to give her an incredulous look. "And what, you don't like the _Normandy_?"

"Oh, the _Normandy's _great. She could dance around every single ship in the galaxy, as long as someone capable is in the helm. Good thing I am."

"And humble too," Kaidan commented dryly. "Besides, the Council helped fund this project. While they might not have been on the shakedown run, they want to have someone keeping an eye on their investment."

"That's the official story," Joker countered, "and only an idiot buys the official-"

"_Commander Williams, Sir Shepard, report to the communications room for debriefing," _Anderson's voice came from the intercom.

"Looks like you are wanted commander. Good luck," Joker said as Ashley turned to leave. Behind her she heard Anderson asking Joker for the status of the ship and saying something that apparently pissed off the captain. The _Normandy's_ CIC was bustling with activity, but she could see Pressley talking with another crewman in annoyance over Nihlus while Chakwas was trying to calm an agitated Jenkins down.

"I grew up on Eden Prime, doc! It's not the place Spectres visit!" Jenkins elaborated. "There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this. Nevermind that Empire flunky, though I could see one of them being mad at the name."

Chakwas snorted, shaking her head in annoyance. "That's crazy; the Captain's in charge. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre. Nevermind someone from the Empire."

"Not his choice, doc. Spectres don't answer to anyone, they can do whatever they want, kill anyone who gets in their way."

"You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins!" Chakwas admonished as Ashley passed by behind them.

"And that Empire girl? Probably a spy. You heard old Emperor Titus, you were around for that."

"Yes, I was…" the rest of the conversation was cut off as the door closed behind Ashley as she entered the short ramp that lead to the room itself.

"Commander," Shepard said with a nod, having come in behind her.

"Shepard," Ashley returned the nod as they stepped inside the communications room, Shepard following her. Inside, both Nihlus and Anderson were waiting for them.

"You are both here. Good," Anderson said. "This will be pretty simple mission."

"We are to go to Eden Prime," Nihlus continued. Though Ashley could not be sure, she was sure she saw Shepard's hand clenched before relaxing. "It's one of the oldest Alliance colonies," Nihlus said, briefly nodding at Shepard. "We..."

"_Captain? Transmission from Eden Prime, sir, you better see this!" _Jokers voice cut in with a hint of panic.

"Bring it up on screen," Anderson said, as everyone turned to around to watch as a communications window popped open. The image showed Alliance troopers engaged in heavy fighting. An officer ran to whoever was broadcasting the video message.

"_We are under attack by an unknown hostile force! Taking heavy casualties, I repeat, heavy casualties!"_ An explosion cut him off as he covered his head and shrapnel flashed off of his kinetic barrier._ "-eed evac! They came from nowhere! The enemy is using unknown weaponry! We don't know how long we-"_

"_BIG ONE COMING!_" Someone shouted at the back.

"_Fall back! We don't have firepower to deal with those!"_ The officer shouted. The camera shook for a moment, as the camera operator tried to move before the video stopped.

"_Everything cuts after that. No comm traffic at all. Just static," _Joker said.

"Rewind and pause at 38.5," Anderson said. The image reversed and stopped at the specified point. In the background, a ship could be seen dropping something to the ground. "Any idea who uses those?" Anderson asked, turning to Nihlus. Nihlus didn't say anything, but merely brought up his omni-tool and typed something into it.

"Hmm... It's not exact match, but..." the turian said cautiously, turning his omni-tool off. "But it matches geth ship profiles."

"_Geth_? Out here?" Shepard asked in confusion. "They would have had to go through either Batarian space or through the Empire!"

"Or they used some back route nobody knew about," Ashley offered.

"Joker, status report!" Anderson demanded.

"_Sixteen minutes out captain. No other Alliance ships in vicinity. Closest group is two hours away."_

"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"_Aye aye captain," _Joker said.

"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention and the _Normandy_'scapabilities would allow a covert drop. It is our best chance to secure the Beacon," Nihlus said, looking at the picture. "I think this will be a good way to see how well you two work together without prior experience. Captain, can you offer two more?"

"Commander, tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up. They're coming with you. Suit up and meet us at the cargo hold. " Anderson said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

_**Normandy**_** Engineering Bay**

"_Approaching the drop point, stealth systems holding, the geth won't see us unless they directly look at us,"_Joker's voice said.

"Good. Commander Williams, since this is Alliance territory you've got command of the mission. Less diplomatic incident material that way," Anderson said.

"Good call, Captain," Nihlus answered as he affixed something to his left boot and another to his right.

Anderson continued past the compliment. "Your primary mission is to secure the beacon, everything else comes after that."

"Woah, we get to work with a real Spectre!" Jenkins muttered to himself, looking as Nihlus was now checking his shotgun, a highly advanced model from what Ashley could make from it and based on the label on the solid ammunition block he loaded into it, specialized at that.

"What about civilians?" Ashley asked as the wind was howling against the closed bay doors.

"Secondary. Support if possible, but your main goal is to get to the dig site! Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. I want radio silence beyond critical mission updates."

"_The LZ is secure, no hostiles detected. Making the final approach," _Joker's voice sounded from the intercom.

"The mission is yours, Williams," Anderson said, giving a salute. The rest of the crew, minus Nihlus and Shepard, returned it.

Anderson left the cargo bay just as the door opened. The team jumped down the whole drop, landing with crouches before standing. Landing last, Kaidan looked up as they watched the _Normandy_ fly off. Ashley gestured for Alenko and Jenkins take the point, with Shepard falling behind to cover their rear and Nihlus taking a position next to her.

"Quick check, special skills I should be aware of?" Ashley asked as she looked around their immediate landing zone.

"Biotics, tech, and medical," Kaiden added.

"Just your average grunt," Jenkins' voice sounded.

"Tech mainly," Nihlus added.

"Biotics," Shepard said last. "The geth really did a number here."

Ashley had to agree. The whole area looked like it had been shelled at some point. In the distance, she could see skyscrapers burning as well as anti-aircraft fire.

"Yes, they did. We better make sure they don't benefit from it," Ashley replied, "Jenkins, you're on the point. Alenko, with Nihlus. Shepard, you're with me," Ashley ordered, with Jenkins and Kaidan nodding and moving to their new positions. Shepard moved next to her as they watched Jenkins slowly creep up a cliffside.

Nobody said anything until Jenkins took cover behind some rocks, peered out and signaled the others to follow. First, Nihlus and Kaidan moved up. As Ashley and Shepard prepared to move out, a faint buzzing sound could be heard. A group of drones popped over the cliff.

"Get into cover, open fire!" Ashley shouted.

Jenkins hurled himself to the side, bullets whizzing towards him as both Nihlus and Kaidan's omni-tools glowed and small discs shot towards the drones and exploded with a pulse, overloading the drones shields and slowing them down, giving Jenkins enough time to move towards the rocks. Ashley and Shepard had opened fire with their rifles and took out one of the drones before they recovered from the tech attacks. The drones opened fire, greenish blue bullets whizzing into Jenkins' chest and he collapsed behind the rocks with a scream.

"Shit, Jenkins!" Ashley shouted as she dropped behind cover next to Kaidan. Nihlus and Shepard were to their sides, with Shepard closer to Jenkins.

"I've got him!" Kaidan shouted, "Cover me!"

"You heard the medic!" Ashley ordered as she laid down a suppressive burst with her rifle, the drones moving erratically to try and get around the cover and finish him off. Nihlus leapt out of cover and towards one of the drones, the small items affixed to his boots earlier revealing them to be _jet boots_ as he leapt at the nearest drone and caught its stabilizer fin, dragging it to the ground before it could finish Jenkins off and drawing fire from the other drones, which impacted off of his kinetic barriers and his omni-tool glowed again, the drone he held on to now turning to fire on the other geth drones.

One of the drones fell into Ashley's sights as it tried to sniff Kaidan. His omni-tool began glowing over Jenkins' limp body and she took the shot, several rounds sailing into the drone and destroying it, Meanwhile Shepard released a biotic attack at one of the drones, causing it to crash into the ground.

"Kaidan, status on Jenkins?" Ashley shouted as she, Shepard and Nihlus secured the perimeter.

"Alive, the shots didn't manage to damage anything vital," Kaidan said, helping Jenkins up. "Little bit medigel and he has something to show off. Still, a centimeter or so to the side and..." he left the rest unsaid.

"Can you fight?" Ashley asked Jenkins, who reached for his rifle and nodded, "Alright, let's move people. Geth can probably share data, so there's no doubt they know that we're here now and I'd rather not wait for them. Nihlus, you said you got tech, so I assume you've got slightly better sensors than the rest of us, at least Spectre gear that is above the norm?"

"I will take point," Nihlus said and moved forward.

"Alright. Shepard, once again you're with me. Alenko, look after Jenkins until he is fully stabilized."

"Understood, commander," came Kaidan's reply.

"Alright team, let's move," Ashley ordered and the team moved forward, with Kaidan and Jenkins falling into the rear. The group came up to a small forest, with Nihlus moving forward and bringing his omni-tool up. Ashley waited few moments before asking Nihlus what he had found.

"Got anything?" Ashley asked.

"At least four drones, two bigger geth signatures and... something. Not sure what," Nihlus reported. "Drones are directly ahead. Geth to the left and two unknowns to the right."

"Understood," Ashley said, looking over the team and then over the area. "Alenko, Jenkins, left. Me and Shepard, right. Nihlus..." She stopped for a moment, thinking, "Do what you do best. Wait for us us to hit them first, while they focus on us, hit them with whatever you got."

"Very well," came Nihlus' response, though Ashley was not sure if Nihlus was approving the plan or not.

She didn't stop to think about it. She and Shepard moved to their position while Kaidan and Jenkins moved to theirs. Ashley looked at their target and frowned, wondering if she was seeing things. She blinked and looked again, but the image was still there and she pulled up her omni-tool to check her helmet camera: it got it too. She looked over at Shepard who was doing something similar.

"Don't ask me. I have never seen anything like this," Shepard said with a look of worry on her face. Ashley leaned just enough out of cover to permit her helmet camera to get footage of these creatures.

The creatures, while bipedal and with two arms, looked somewhat bug-like. Like batarians they had four eyes, but unlike them they had two on each side their head instead of four more central ones. And they also appeared to have some sort of chitinous exoskeleton. They didn't wear any visible armor, unless their armor was organic. The creatures chirped something to the two geth troopers, before revealing wings and flying upwards and over the rocks.

"Are they leaving?" Shepard asked as she followed the alien movement, hand on the side of her helmet to keep her camera straight as she followed them until they left her line of sight.

"Less for us to fight," she tapped her headset. "Alenko, Jenkins, Nihlus, change of plans. Hostiles on the right just left. Alenko, Jenkins, proceed as planned. Nihlus, help me and Shepard to take down the drones, then support Alenko and Jenkins."

"_Solid copy," _Kaidan responded.

"_Copy that," _Nihlus said. Ashley looked over to Shepard who nodded.

"On my mark... Mark!"

Ashley saw three discs fly out. Two flew in the middle of the geth, the first one flashing and overloading geths' K-barriers, with second one - a grenade - exploding soon after, causing two to stagger back. The third disc hit a drone, which beeped few times and then started to fire on other drones. Ashley aimed through her rifle scope and took one drone down with a quick burst, and Shepard used her biotics to pull another one down into the ground. Meanwhile, Kaidan had lifted one of the geth troopers into the air with biotics, the machine flailing around to reach for its weapon that had fallen to the ground while other one was being riddled with bullets from Jenkins.

"Yeah! Take that you synthetic bastards! Eat hot lead!" Jenkins shouted as the geth landed head first into the ground.

The hacked drone beeped again and turned towards Ashley, before a shotgun blast blew it out of the sky. The final drone managed to cause Nihlus' shield to flare, before Ashley took it down. Shepard was preparing a biotic blast against the geth floating in the air and released the burst. The clash of biotics exploded and caused geth's head land next to Shepard.

"Nice work. No need for medi-gel this time," Ashley said with a smile. However, before she could get any further, they heard gunfire.

Ashley gestured the team to move forward. Exiting the woods and getting to the top of a small hill, they saw two geth who were doing something to a colonist, placing him on a pedestal, before a metallic spike burst out of the pedestal and impaled the colonist.

"Holy shit!" Ashley swore.

"Those fucking - not even animals!" Jenkins shouted angrily and began to move forward when Kaidan grabbed his shoulder to stop him from running in.

"They have to be stopped," Shepard said with a terrifying amount of venom in her voice as she switched to a shotgun.

"Look, over there!" Nihlus called, pointing with his omni-tool.

An Alliance marine appeared at the top of the hill, on the near side of the trench the geth were on, falling and rolling to the bottom of it. The two geth saw him and raised their rifles. The two creatures the team had seen earlier were chasing after the marine. The marine's kinetic barrier failed, but the marine was then enclosed by a blue aura - a biotic barrier . The marine managed to get behind some rocks, shotgun in hand and Ashley gestured for the team to attack.

Jenkins opened fire first, blazing away and overheating his Lancer as the team charged down the hill. Kaidan was behind him and charged his biotics, which manifested around one of the geth and lifted it into the air before slamming it back down into the ground - hard enough to make it bounce before being pulled by the other Alliance marine's biotics.

Nihlus was focused on the strange aliens, leaping towards one with his jet boots. The alien leapt into the air and activated its wings for air superiority, but Nihlus blasted it with his shotgun, eviscerating its right wing and the alien fell to the ground. The other one was firing from what looked like an alien rifle, the strange rounds impacting against Ashley and Shepard's barriers as the two dove into cover on opposite sides of the marine. Shepard leaned out to fire and received return fire from the geth trooper and there was a small burst of energy from Shepard's suit.

"No shields!" Shepard shouted as she ducked back into cover. "Shit, those weapons go right through them!"

"Stay down!" Ashley ordered as Jenkins had thrown his rifle to the side and was unloading his with sidearm, hitting the geth trooper that had been focused on Shepard as Kaidan overloaded its shields and Jenkins hit it right in the flashlight. Ashley grit her teeth as she leaned out of cover and fired at the last alien, causing it to retreat.

"Oh no you don't!" Kaidan shouted angrily as he stepped forward from cover and his arms were glowing. "Marine, Shepard! Pull, _now_!"

The three biotics leaned out of their cover and grabbed the alien with their biotics, pulling back with enough force that Jenkins had to leap out of the way as it crashed into the ground, arms and head breaking off and the head landed just next to Jenkins, who unloaded into it with his pistol.

"Jenkins, stand down!" Ashley ordered angrily. "Keep your head in the game; getting pissed is only going to make it easier for them to kill you! Besides, we need every sample of these things we can get - we can't find out what they are if you destroy every sample."

"I have a mostly intact one here," Nihlus said as he looked disapprovingly at Jenkins, not that Ashley could blame either of them - this was Jenkins' home, and that easily could have been a friend or family member. Nihlus was a professional, going berserk was not something you did.

"I…" Jenkins nodded slowly. "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am."

"Just keep your head down," she glanced to Kaidan. "Good call, by the way."

"Thank you."

"Anyone hurt?" No one answered and she nodded to herself, walking to the marine.

"Finally, reinforcements. How many?" The marine said, sounding tired.

"This is it, we were the closest group," Ashley said, "Who you are? You're in charge here?"

"Gunnery Chief Jacob Taylor, Unit 211 of the Second Frontier Division. We were patrolling the perimeter when the geth hit us, or what we thought was the geth."

"Yes, these things are... quite different," Ashley said, nodding at the dead creature.

"Yeah. You've got mostly geth troopers out here, but the closer you get to the dig site or colony, more of these things start to pop out."

"What about the beacon? Is it secure?"

"Hell if I know. Last I checked the dig site was a massacre," Jacob explained as he caught his breath. "We thought we could save few colonists that were trapped in some pre-fabs, but we came too late. Geth and these things ambushed us. I got separated from the rest of my team, but I assume the geth killed them."

"I see..." Ashley said slowly. "What do you know about the Beacon?"

"They were doing some digging, extending the monorail. Hit the beacon with a big ol' power drill - damn miracle it wasn't damaged," Shepard raised an eyebrow briefly before Jacob continued. "Next thing you knew, the place was crawling with scientists and other eggheads," Jacob explained, shrugging. "We were brought in few days ago to secure the site."

"Well Taylor, you're with us now," Ashley ordered. "We are going to secure that beacon again."

"Yes ma'am, it's time for…" he paused then blinked as he finally noticed Shepard. "Is that an Empire flunky?" he asked, pointing at Shepard. She was looking over her torn tabard, apparently considering whenever or not to discard the tattered cloth.

"Yes. It's a long story, she and the turian over there are with us. I'm Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, _SSV Normandy_."

"Can we... trust them?" Jacob asked, raising his eyebrow towards them. Shepard and Nihlus both shrugged, indifferent to the marine's opinion of them while Jenkins was staring at the impaled colonist nearby.

"They haven't stabbed us yet and they were onboard the ship when we set the course here. They are here to oversee the transfer of the beacon to the Council," _Shame we couldn't keep it,_ Ashley briefly mused. Being able to keep it like the Mars Archive would have been useful.

"Right. Well, an extra gun is better than no gun," Jacob said finally with a shrug and holding up his battered shotgun.

"Good," Ashley said with a nod. She looked over the team, thinking of possible squad mixes she could do. Putting Jenkins with Shepard was inviting a fight over something, so that was out. Putting a biotic with another biotic was either wasting the potential, or enabling powerful combinations like what Kaidan and Jacob had pulled on that geth trooper. They now had three biotics, more than what would normally be available. Both Kaidan and Nihlus had tech, so putting them together might not be the best idea due to overlapping skill. "Any special skills apart from biotics?"

"Not really," Jacob said.

"Damn it," Ashley muttered to herself. She thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

"Okay, time to mix it up. Shepard, Nihlus, with me. We're Team One. That gives us both tech and biotics. Taylor, you're with Alenko and Jenkins. You're Team Two and in support, you can easily harass the enemy with those biotics. Lieutenant, you've got command. Jenkins, get your sniper rifle out, you'll probably be in a good firing position to pick off targets. Also, Taylor, can you sync your hardsuit with ours? The shield readouts would be useful."

"Yes ma'am," Jacob said as his omni-tool glowed and the head's up display in Ashley's helmet updated with Jacob's status.

She nodded, glancing to the others who likewise nodded. "Okay, good. Let's get into the teams."

"Understood, ma'am," Jacob said, moving to Jenkins and Kaidan.

"Got it," Kaidan acknowledged as Nihlus and Shepard adjusted their shotguns.

"I - yes ma'am," Jenkins looked somewhat deflated, though he was still looking at the impaled colonist.

"You'll get to stop them," Kaidan added to the young soldier. "They'll just never see you coming."

"Alright, check your gear and prepare to move out," Ashley ordered. "Taylor, you know the route to the dig site, any short cuts we can take?"

"No need. The dig site is just down this trench and over that rise. 212 tried to send a distress signal, but were gunned down before they could do anything. 232 was with the scientists, last I knew they were still holding, but we lost radio contact with them some time ago."

"Alright, time to move out. Team One takes point," Ashley ordered and the teams formed up.

Nihlus took the point again as Ashley and Shepard followed Nihlus, covering the sides while Kaidan, Jenkins and Jacob followed behind. Jenkins was coming last, moving from one position to another, always checking his sniper rifle's scope to ensure good line of sight over the team.

Finally, the team arrived at the dig site and were looking down from the slope. Geth infantry and the creatures were walking around, as if trying to look for something. Ashley saw Kaidan to gesture Jenkins to move to a sniper position, while he and Taylor moved to side. Ashley hit the headset.

"Okay, Team One hits them first, Team Two, once the enemy is focused on us, hit them from afar. Jenkins, once we are engaged, take out ones in cover if you can," she ordered, receiving confirmations from everyone. "Jenkins, call out anything that shows up."

"_Copy!"_

Ashley nodded to Shepard as she slipped a grenade from her belt before hurling the small device - barely the size of a hockey puck but the same shape, and it latched onto a geth before it exploded into a blinding white light. The geth, while theoretically able to shrug off a flashbang's effects as synthetics, instead had their more delicate sensors blinded briefly. But unlike humans who were flashbanged, the geth simply moved into cover and stayed there, though Nihlus managed to shoot one in the head before it got to cover.

The aliens, however, were more affected and collapsed forward in shock. "Nice job banging the four-eyes," Shepard said as she leaned out of cover and blasted one with her shotgun. As she came back into cover as inaccurate fire sprayed towards them, Ashley was smirking at the Hospitaller. "What?"

"Nothing," Ashley answered as she leaned out of cover and sprayed several rounds downrange at the other alien still standing after Kaidan lifted one into the air for Jenkins to snipe and Nihlus overheated the other's gun with a tech attack, causing it to explode in its face - literally, though its biotic barriers caught it and the creature drew a side arm before throwing itself into cover.

The geth had recovered from the flashbang and were now spraying fire in return, dropping both of their kinetic barriers as Kaidan overloaded the geth on the left, which Jacob pulled over the rock it had hid behind, giving Jenkins clear line of sight.

"_Headshot!"_ Jenkins exclaimed.

"_Mind the radio,_" Nihlus chided back as he ignited his jet boots and leapt over the firefight, landing on the other side of the wall from the alien that had survived. It leaned out of cover and sprayed rounds towards Kaidan, who ducked behind cover with a few rounds bouncing off his kinetic barrier. Nihlus reached around as it did so and dragged it around the wall to him and snapped its neck. The creature hit the ground before a claw like blade came out of its hand, but Nihlus was quick and stomped its head in before it could strike.

"Two left!" Shepard shouted as she grappled one of the geth with a biotic pull, smashing it against the wall it managed to get behind before she finished the attack. Ashley saw the other geth moving to take the shot and fired at it, catching it in the chest and knocking it into a pile of its own white fluids.

"Make that one! Nihlus?"

Nihlus was already on it, blasting the last geth that had been slammed against the wall by biotics with his shotgun.

"_Clear!"_

"_All Clear!"_

"_Clear!"_

"This is it," Jacob said as they entered the site. "This is where the beacon was found."

"I thought the protheans made things big," Shepard said, glancing at the ruins. "But this doesn't look like a beacon to me," She looked up into the darkening sky to look at the upper parts of the ruin.

"It was here this morning," Jacob frowned, looking over the empty spot. "They must have moved it."

"But who? Us, or the geth?" Kaidan asked as Jenkins walked up and Kaidan did a quick scan of him with his omni-tool.

"If it was us, the beacon should be by the starport, it's not far from here. If we go through the research camp, we can get there pretty quickly by monorail," Jacob offered, looking up the ramp in the back of the ruins. "With luck, 232 is still alive with the scientists. Maybe they know more."

"Alright people, you heard him. Let's move," Ashley said gesturing Shepard and Nihlus to join her. The slope leading out and up to the camp was too narrow and exposed to really allow team to have a point man, so they moved in one group, with Team One on the front and Team Two covering their rear.

"Jesus Christ..." Ashley muttered in shock as they arrived at the camp to a visceral sight. The entire camp - every last person - had been impaled on the spikes. Jenkins seemed to be even more terrified, walking to one of the spikes with a grimace on his face.

"This makes no sense. Why would the geth commit these kinds of atrocities? It seems... inefficient," Nihlus muttered, looking around, "No bodies on the ground. All impaled. Why? I see no logical reasons for this."

"Do they need one? It's pretty clear these geth and... things are evil," Jenkins said, kicking one of the objects.

"Yes, they need a reason. Geth are machines. They do not have emotions. They are run by logic," Nihlus countered in annoyance as he walked by one of the devices, motioning Jenkins away and scanning it with his omni-tool.

"To scare us?" Shepard offered. "Some slavers like to hang rebellious slaves and leave them hanging, to scare others into submission."

"Doubt they'd be the only ones doing it to keep power," Jenkins added as Kaidan facepalmed. Shepard raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"These bodies look they have been like this for a while. Livor mortis has set in, so that's probably at least a half hour if not longer," Ashley said, looking over one of the impaled bodies. Her nose told her more than she needed to know and she could see the purplish discoloration in the lower hanging limbs, but with a closer look she realized that it could be something else. "That's not the weird thing, though. Look at those strange cybernetics all over them; those aren't prosthetics with the artificial skin peeled off. Weird," she turned to to the rest of the squad, "Do we have survivors?"

"Yes, you have survivors," a woman's voice answered, as one of the buildings opened. A woman with a short red hair stepped out, followed by a nervous looking man. "Thank the Maker, we thought everyone else was dead."

"We have to get out of here. Before they come back. Back to finish us," the man said, whispering and rubbing his hands together and looking wildly around.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you. We took out the geth and the creatures while on our way here," Ashley said, pointing her weapon in the direction they had come from. "Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, Alliance Navy. This is my squad."

"Thank you. I think we might be okay now, looks like everyone is gone," the woman nodded.

"You're Doctor Warren, right? You're the head of the excavation," Jacob said, stepping forward. "232 was with you."

"Yes, they gave their lives so we could hide. We managed to hide in one of the pre-fabs, the others... the others were not so lucky," Doctor Warren said, trying to not to look at the impaled soldiers and scientists.

"No one is safe. The age of humanity is coming to an end. Soon, only ruins and corpses will remain," the man said in terror, staring into the sky.

"Is your assistant okay?" Nihlus asked, looking over him with what Ashley assumed was the turian equivalent of a quizzical look.

"I am sorry, Manuel has a brilliant mind, but the line between brilliance and insanity can be... thin at some times."

"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope? No I am not mad. I am the only one sane left!" Manuel exclaimed angrily.

"I gave him an extra-dosage of medicine after the attack, he should calm down soon enough," Doctor Warren said, shaking her head.

"Do you know what happened to the beacon?" Ashley asked, trying to ignore Manuel.

"It was moved to the spaceport this morning," Doctor Warren said, "Me and Manuel, as well as a few others, stayed behind to pack up the camp. Then the attack came."

"I'm sorry," Ashley said before glancing to the path ahead and nodding to herself. "Anything we should know about the beacon?"

"It seems to be part of a larger communication network, much like our comm buoys. Remarkably well preserved. They seem to double as both means of communications as well as information storage. Who knows what information could be stored inside it? Ground breaking technologies, remarkable scientific discoveries? This beacon could propel our knowledge decades ahead of it's time!"

"Unless the geth get it first," Nihlus said, cutting off the scientist's wonderment. "We should move on."

"Agreed. How far is the starport?" Ashley nodded.

"Monorail station is just over that hill and down, it will take you directly to the starport," Doctor Warren answered, pointing to the path ahead.

"Hmm... Team Two, you stay here and secure the site. Team One, we'll scout the station. Once we give all clear, follow us. I suggest you two keep your heads down. Kaidan, help the doc with Manuel if needed."

"Yes, commander," Doctor Warren said. "Come on Manuel, let's get you calmed down."

"Understood, ma'am," Kaidan nodded.

"Alright, let's move people."

Team One moved up to the hill and peered down at the monorail station. Nihlus took the point once again as the team began to descend the slope, moving from cover to cover. Around them, several corpses were impaled on the spikes, some starting to look like they had been there for a longer and covered in more of the strange cybernetics.

The team moved up to the monorail station, ensuring that the no enemies were around. The area was surprisingly empty of enemies. They were on a ramp leading up to the station when Nihlus signaled that he was getting something on his scanner. Shepard moved into position to ascend the ramp. Once she got up there, she swung her shotgun around.

"DON'T MOVE!" Shepard shouted. Ashley and Nihlus moved up the ramp to join her, Nihlus mandibles flared for a moment before he spoke. Ashley saw that there was another turian standing on the platform.

"Saren?" Nihlus asked in shock.

"Nihlus," Another turian answered, this one's skin a shinier grey compared to Nihlus darker coloring.

"What you doing here Saren? This isn't your mission," Nihlus asked, lowering his gun and stepping forward. "You can lower your guns. He's a fellow Spectre," Nihlus said to Ashley and Shepard, who moved to secure the sides.

"I was following a lead I got. I was surprised by the geth," Saren said, looking at the distance where a geth dropship was firing at something. "I did not expect to see them here. The situation is quickly deteriorating, but there is no need to worry. I have some people down the monorail. The beacon is secure, for now."

"The beacon is secure? The geth can't get it?" Ashley moved up to ask, curious how the turian could have assets on Eden Prime. "Who do you have there?"

"Some soldiers I met," Saren answered, shrugging the question off. "I came here to try to contact the scientists."

"Only two of them were alive. Rest of them... bad things happened," Ashley explained, looking at several spikes and impaled bodies.

"I see... that is bad."

"_Ashley, come in!" _Kaidan's voice came from the radio, _"I don't how, but bunch of geth creeped up on us… SHIT!"_

"Talk to me Kaidan, what's going on!?"

"_The scientists, the ones that got impaled! They. Are. MOVING! We need help!"_ She could hear a burst of geth gunfire and someone scream. _"Jenkins is down!"_

"Hold on, we're coming!" Ashley shouted to the comm unit before turning to rest, "Team Two needs help, we need to move, fast. Saren, you coming with us?"

"You go ahead, I am going to try and secure the monorail," Saren answered, "I have always been a solo-operative."

Nihlus seemed to be considering whenever to go with Saren or with Ashley and Shepard, before finally nodding.

"We will return shortly. Keep an eye for the enemy," Nihlus said as the team began to run back towards the camp.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Doc, stay down!" Kaidan shouted as he looked at the monsters the spikes had just created. It had happened so fast. The spikes started whirring suddenly and then pulled down and the corpses more or less came to life again - like zombies. Kaidan caught one that was rushing towards Doctor Warren with a biotic field and hurled it into the air. Bullets rained down again as Jenkins pulled himself into a prefab and Jacob was blasting away at the geth on the ridge overlooking the campsite with his shotgun.

"They better get here soon!" Jacob shouted as he ducked back into cover while Kaidan did the same before leaning out again and hurling another biotic throw at the zombie… _things_ rushing them. Another one went flying away and crashed into the other two, knocking them back towards the spikes.

"Psychological warfare, yeah right…" Kaidan muttered as he activated his omni-tool and tried to lean out to overload the geth, but they had found their firing solutions and had them pinned down. If they tried to lean out of cover to shoot or attack with biotics, the strange pulse rounds would tear through their shields.

"Got an idea?" Jacob asked.

"Just one- SHIT!" Kaidan shouted as one of the zombies came up next to him and he punched it in the face instinctively. Jacob had another one attacking him but he managed to charge his biotics and punched it in the face, the head exploding from the sheer biotic force.

"_Holy shit!"_ Doctor Warren shouted as part of the husk's head - or what was left of it - landed on the prefab's door.

Another one managed to latch onto Kaidan and was standing over him, trying to strangle him as Kaidan held it by the throat and was trying to keep it off of him. The geth had to be moving around now as they stopped firing while they were being rushed by the creatures.

_Do something!_ Kaidan thought angrily, trying to think of what to do. Memories from his past flashed by - turns out they were right after all about that - and he moved his right leg under the creature and kicked it away with his biotics. The grip the creature had on him meant that it took him with it, but he broke free and landed next to the rock they were using for cover as he saw geth infantry with rifles trained on him.

"Oh _fu-_"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ashley overheated her assault rifle firing at the geth about to finish Kaidan off as a fireball like burst came from Nihlus' shotgun and scattered the geth group while Shepard ran towards Kaidan and put herself - shimmering with a biotic barrier - between the geth and the Alliance soldier. Ashley slid her assault rifle to its holster and grabbed her shotgun, blasting at the geth as she entered cover to keep them back while her rifle was venting heat. The geth were dropping behind the rock formation again as she could hear someone climbing behind her.

"Watch out!" Kaidan shouted and Ashley turned just in time to see - was that a zombie or some sort of husk?! - trying to attack her and it grabbed her by the upper arm. She snarled as it tried to make a damsel out of her and she punched it in the face before dropping down and knocking its legs out from under it. Her shotgun clattered to the ground but she grabbed her pistol and fired several rounds into the husk as Kaidan caught it with a biotic lift before Jacob launched it towards the geth with a pull.

"What was that?" Ashley asked in horror as she grabbed her assault rifle and turned towards the way in as a few more of the pseudo-undead were trying to rush them.

"No idea!" Shepard answered as the two looked towards the monorail station. Shepard grabbed the nearest one with biotics and hurled it into the ones behind it while Ashley blasted away. Nihlus activated his jet boots again and she heard Kaidan scream, but she also heard geth going down as someone from the prefabs was blasting away with an assault rifle.

One of the creatures managed to close in past her suppressive fire and Shepard's shotgun blasts, but she struck it in the chest and staggered it before Shepard finished it off with a biotic push, knocking it into the rocks and breaking the skull open.

"_Area clear,"_ Nihlus said by radio. _"No hostiles left and I can see both sets of spikes; no more bodies about to wake up."_

"Understood. Everyone alive?" Ashley asked the squad frantically. "Kaidan, Jenkins, talk to me!"

"Ow... I'm really getting tired of getting shot..."Jenkins moaned as Kaidan administered medigel on his wounds, his assault rifle visibly dissipating heat.

"You'll live," Kaidan told him before turning towards Ashley, who sighed in relief as she saw the two sitting by the prefab. "Doctor Warren and her assistant are safe, they holed up in a prefab and locked it. I took a hit, but my armor caught the worst of it and I've got enough medi-gel."

"Good to hear. They should probably stay there. We need to get to the spaceport and taking them with us puts them directly in the line of fire," Ashley explained as she recovered her shotgun. "Also, we met another turian, Saren. Nihlus recognized him as another Spectre."

"That's weird," Jacob said with a tired, confused look. "They screened all the newcomers and send us the files, we never got any turian."

"Saren prefers to remain anonymous when going undercover. He might have bribed someone to keep him off the record," Nihlus explained as he dropped back down from the ridge, using his jet boots to stop his fall and landing gently.

"I guess so..."Jacob conceded with a shrug.

"Still, we need to head back. Hopefully, this will be the last enemy group we meet here," Ashley said and gestured the squad to move. The squad began to move, with Team One taking the point once again.

"Hold on, what're we going to call those in combat?" Kaidan said, gesturing back to the reanimated bodies. "I've never seen those before and calling them zombies is hard to take seriously."

Ashley paused, taking a glance as they were climbing back up the short hill to the monorail station. "Let's call 'em husks for now - makes sense and its quick. Anyone got a better name?" No one answered. "Alright, let's move,"It did not take them long to reach the top of the hill.

"More!" Jenkins warned as they saw what was in the monorail station.

"Oh for God's sake where are all these hostiles coming from?" Ashley swore angrily, looking down at the monorail station. Some of the creatures had arrived at the scene and she could see several more of those husk creatures milling around, ignoring the creatures. They would need to retake the station before they could leave.

"Okay, Jenkins, stay up here on the ridge and pick off targets. Shepard, keep those husks from closing in! Taylor, work with Alenko and see about moving some of those crates with biotics! Nihlus, do your thing! Let's go!"

She received a chorus of affirmatives and they moved down the hill once again. The creatures opened fire with their weird off-white projectiles, impacting around them or being deflected by their kinetic barriers. Jacob and Kaidan worked together, lifting a large crate near the station before hurling it towards the aliens at the stairs. The two aliens looked up in what was hopefully horror and began to run away before the crate came down on them.

"Go go go!" Ashley ordered as she, Shepard, and Nihlus hurried across the field. Nihlus activated his jet boots and leapt over the wall of the monorail station's elevated platform while Ashley and Shepard stormed up the stairs when the crate Jacob and Kaidan had hurled burst open and Ashley barely skidded to a halt in time when she saw what was in front of her. An advanced geth trooper with a white color scheme.

With a shotgun.

The next thing she knew she was flying over the railing behind her, hitting the ground and her entire view became a blurry haze as her body was blistering in pain from landing on her backside. She groped for her rifle as she lay there, rifles blazing away above and Jenkins's sniper rifle taking out a geth drone flying in from above.

Ashley finally found her rifle as her vision began to clear. Her armor's onboard system finally began applying medi-gel. Her vision was slowly clearing she gripped her rifle and pushed herself up against the wall and slowly stood, vision coming back in spite of the pain. _Ignore it,_ she told herself as the adrenaline began to take over and she forced herself through the injury. She refused to glance down and pushed up the stairs as Shepard and Nihlus were engaged with their shotguns, passing by the shattered platform of the geth that had almost killed her.

A husk leapt onto Nihlus and tackled him, but the turian wrestled it off and threw it to the ground, stomping on the head as the aliens still in the play were shooting at him and dropped his kinetic barrier. "Shields out!" Nihlus warned as he dropped into cover.

"I'll cover you!" Ashley answered as she saw the aliens ahead firing at him and opened fire herself, suppressing them while Shepard hurled a biotic attack at another one, which failed to connect.

"What the-?" Shepard asked in confusion as she dropped back into cover while another of the aliens stepped forward, glowing blue with biotics.

"They've got a biotic, look-" Ashley did not finish the warning as she suddenly felt herself being launched up and found herself hurtling into the air. Kaidan and Jacob had managed to close in and all three biotics on the two teams set to work. Shepard and Jacob both used biotic attacks on the alien biotic, forcing it to respond to those with its own barrier while Ashley felt the mass effect fields around her dissipating and another pulling her down. She was stopped from slamming to the floor as she saw Kaidan pulling her behind cover.

"Thanks," she said as she landed on the ground and caught her breath. Kaidan did not answer, instead wincing in pain and putting a hand on his head. She frowned.

"Kaidan are-"

"I'll be fine," he quickly answered, "just get that biotic!"

She nodded as Nihlus had rejoined the fight with his shields back up, leaping towards the enemy troopers in cover as a sniper round whizzed into the distracted enemy biotic, knocking out its barrier which Shepard and Ashley proceeded to exploit, shotgun bursts and assault rifle rounds streaming into it and spilling the alien's blood on the sheet metal floor. Jacob and Nihlus meanwhile finished off the rest of the aliens and calls of 'Clear!' began to echo through the area. Ashley slumped against the pillar she had found herself behind as she began to take in the fact at how badly she had been hurt and Kaidan's omni-tool began to glow.

"Everyone okay?" Ashley asked into her headset as Kaidan administered medi-gel for her wounds. After receiving a chorus of affirmatives she forced herself to look down where she had been hit, her Onyx armor scorched and she was sure there was a bit of red there. "How bad is it, doc?"

"Damn it Ash, I am a medic, not a doctor!" Kaidan responded, before grinning like a schoolboy. "Not bad, minor burn from the mass rounds, I think that geth was using incendiary ammo. Failed to detonate properly, your K-barriers and armor took care of them."

"Good, I didn't plan on burning to death," Ashley said as Kaidan finished his work, feeling better even with the adrenaline slowly ebbing down. "Alright, Team Two, check the train for us. Team One, let's check that control tower."

"No need, it's busted," a voice came from behind a stack of crates, leading everyone to raise their weapons at them, "Don't shoot, I'm not one of them! I'm human!" A nervous man rose from behind the crates, his arms raised and eyes darting between an array of weapons aimed at him.

"Sneaking like that almost got you killed," Shepard noted, not lowering her shotgun until Ashley gestured for her to.

"Who are you?" Ashley asked, putting her weapon away and gesturing for Team Two to continue to their objective.

"Powell. I am a worker around here," the man explained sheepishly.

"How did you survive?" Nihlus asked him next, staring him down.

"Sometimes, I... I need some extra winks to get by my work. So I sneak behind some crates."

"You survived because you were lazy?" Ashley asked incredulously, "I can't believe this..."She shook her head before turning back to Powell, "What do you mean control tower is busted?"

"There was a turian here. Grey one unlike your friend here," Powell said, nodding at Nihlus, "I heard him talk to some humans earlier and came here to see him. Once I got here, I saw him talking to those machines. Told them to mess up the tower once he took it and sabotage the second one."

"Impossible. The only other turian we know of is Saren and he would not ally with the geth. This is not his method of operation," Nihlus said, but Ashley reached for her comm unit.

"Team Two, report."

"_Team Two here, go ahead," _Kaidan's voice answered.

"Be careful with the train, we got an unconfirmed report that it might be sabotaged."

"_Hmm... Give me a second," _There were a few noises from the other end of the line, before Jenkins muttered something. Kaidan returned to the line. _"You're right. Whole control scheme is busted. At best, this thing would keep accelerating until it would derail. Killing us with it."_

"Understood. Check the local garage, these places usually have some other means of travel. With luck, they might have a truck or something."

"_Will do, Commander."_

"Well, there goes our ride," Shepard noted in annoyance. "What else do you have here?"

"Stations usually have some secondary means to get around. Rails might need maintenance, for example. With luck, the geth missed those," Ashley answered before looking back at Powell, who merely nodded, "Anything else you can tell us?"

"Nothing really. I have been hiding most of the time," Powell admitted, looking back at the crates.

"What about the beacon?" Ashley pressed.

"Oh, that thing?" Powell said, "It was moved to the starport earlier this morning. Big thing. Should still be there."

"Alright, you heard the man. Let's head to the garage and hope we can catch a ride from there," Ashley said, before turning to Powell, "Research site is clear and there are few survivors holed up there. You can try to head back there or keep hiding here. Your choice."

"I think I'll just go back to my hole," Powell said, before climbing over several crates and disappearing from their view. The team began to move towards the maintenance garage.

"Was it wise to let him go?" Shepard questioned, looking back, "He might attract more geth."

"He would have slowed us down. Our goal is secure the beacon," Nihlus explained.

"As much as I hate leaving behind civilians, well, he has survived this far and we have reduced the geth and bug population of this area considerably," Ashley concurred with a nod.

"Bugs?" Shepard asked.

"Well, they look like bugs," Ashley answered, "But I have no idea if they are real bugs or just look like them."

"They do remind me of some critters back at Palaven. A lot bigger and only two legs, though. Also missing a pair of eyes,"Nihlus commented.

"Never been fan of bugs..." Shepard grumbled as they reached the garage and found Jenkins sitting on the top of what looked to Ashley like an old M29 Grizzly, painted brown instead.

"Take a look at this!" Jenkins said with a grin. "A VT7. Perfect for getting us over to the starport. And hey, check this out," He moved slightly and opened the hatch where normally a turret would be… revealing a smaller autogun instead of the normal heavy turret on an M29 that popped out and could be manned. "They modified them with these in case of varren attacks ever since that cargo ship of 'em got loose. Civilian grade, but they pack a punch."

Ashley smiled. "Perfect. Alenko, you drive and Taylor, I want you on the gun. If you see a geth or alien, blast 'em,"She paused, glancing at Nihlus. "Well. A non-turian alien."

"Thank you, Commander," Nihlus answered with what Ashley swore was a sense of amusement as they climbed into the vehicle and drove off to the starport.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Authors Notes:**

_This is the first 'real' chapter of the story, and some things should be noted quickly: While we chose to use a similar track to the canon, we refuse to simply rehash the story we all have played through verbatim and just change some window dressing like having Jacob in Ashley's spot. That's not interesting at all and we can do better than that. But taking a similar skeleton and rearranging it in ways that in the end will almost always ultimately tie into the ultimate point of divergence, the batarian slaver raid in 1192 CE, it was hoped to make something interesting. You will see larger divergences as the plot continues to move forward as ultimately we want to make our own story instead of just canon with a few changes._

_As an example of such, Jenkins and Nihlus surviving as long as they have… so far. This comes ultimately down to the fact that there were two other squadmates to back Jenkins up, one of whom is a full on tech character. In the original timeline, Ashley was fighting for her life elsewhere and Nihlus was elsewhere because he was just observing Shepard. But here, due to Shepard being in the SE this time and Ashley being an SA candidate, Nihlus needs to stick with the group as while Ashley and Shepard may be the more reasonable candidates, he needs to keep an eye on things as much as possible. Likewise, it means that Saren could not just plug Nihlus in the back because there's two others flanking him, meaning that if he tried to slip his gun past Nihlus' K-Barriers for an execution headshot, Ashley and Shepard could warn Nihlus and stop it._

_Now, some might also note that we have another group of aliens in Eden Prime and perhaps even recognized who they are. The reason for their involvement is a spoiler, so in words of Casey Hudson: Lots of speculations from everybody!_

_Overall, however, we do hope that you enjoy the story. We also want to thank Relvain Jenafuse, Alec McDowell, Astol, medchtsia, and JackFrost21 on Fanfiction dot net for their reviews._

_As per each chapter, Codex entries below for your reading. These are on the Empire's Social Contracts (discussed briefly on the _Normandy_ between Ash, Shep, and Kaidan) and Chivalric Orders, one of which Etel Shepard hails from._

**Codex: Social Contracts**

The Star Empire is divided into three classes, Nobles, Aristocrats and Commoners, all which share different types of Social Contracts. Failure to maintain these Social Contracts could cause a person to lose their status. Social Contracts are a core part of the Empire's government, and is considered the method of ensuring that all within know their place in the world and what their task is. While this does not dictate life goals, it does provide a sense of order similar to the Turian Hierarchy's tiers of citizenship, a common comparison used in school texts.

The lowest class, Commoners, provide taxes and service to their land and lord, and in exchange they are granted protection - legal and martial - as well as basic life necessities. For example, a soldier offers his service and all the risk therein, but in exchange gets solid pay, room and board, and health care even after his service ends. A farmer would provide a portion of grown food to the community stores for hard times, but gets land to farm and protection in exchange. A merchant may pay a very high tax compared to his fellows, but in exchange gets land to serve and the security to ply their wares freely in towns or on the road. This social contract works both ways, as while a commoner failing is a breach of contract, the same applies to the nobility failing.

Failure to maintain the contract can result the Commoner facing penalties, such as harsher taxes, imprisonment, or losing their lands. Nobles failing to provide their required necessities or dues to those who rent their land or benefit from their protection run the risk of losing their titles and lands, and a few particularly corrupt noblemen have even been jailed or worse. Any breaches in the Social Contracts are dealt by the Imperial Administration.

**Codex: Chivalric Orders**

Chivalric Orders are societies formed by the Imperial Administration and recognized by the Emperor. These organizations are responsible for maintaining the Faith of Abraham, though in different methods. At the moment, there are twelve recognized orders operating within Citadel space, as well as several self-styled orders who are not officially recognized by the Empire, but still maintain that they are Chivalric Orders, the most well known of these pseudo-orders being the Brothers of Sword and Word. Orders are autonomous, maintaining their own funding, ranks, and military. They are not technically part of the Imperial Military and therefore are not formally within their chain of command. However, many of them hold the Emperor has the leader of their Order, with the greatest exception being the Knights of the Poor.

Many of the Orders maintain unique armor designs for their members and members are often officially knighted, earning the title of Sir Knight. Most Orders do not venture outside the Empire's borders, but a few do and two of them even accept non-humans among their ranks. These two are the Brotherhood of Holy Spirit and the Hashshashin. The two most well known orders are Order of Hospitallers (the Knights Hospitaller), known for their aggressive campaign against slavers, and the Knights of Solomon Temple - also known as the Templars - for their work for the poor and downtrodden as well as their military achievements.

The Council has issued that any Order wishing to operate outside of Empire space is to seek a permit from the Council and report any members operating in Citadel Space in order to keep the peace. The Empire also maintains that Orders are not allowed to grow beyond certain size. Despite this, some fear that Orders might grow too powerful for the Emperor to control if not reined in or checked by a strong central military.

Membership in these orders varies. Some only take in nobles, others are open to all who qualify. Some accept non-humans, others hold that their orders were for mankind. The oldest orders tend to be the most exclusive, while newer ones and the unrecognized orders tend to be the most inclusive. However, all Orders share a similar rank structure and while they may use different titles or heraldry, they are all considered part of the Star Empire and are usually considered an auxiliary part of its fighting forces. Yet it must be remembered that military action is not the only goal of these orders, with the Mutazili being dedicated more towards science and theology rather than military skill.


	3. Priority: Eden Prime - Starport

A VT7 might not have been as well armored as the original M29 Grizzly it was based on, but it was infinitely more comfortable, with actual room to stretch one's legs and a working suspension. With Kaidan driving the vehicle, the group was following the monorail. Thankfully, the geth had not paid attention to the monorail itself, so there were very few obstructions, mainly rocks and other uneven terrain features.

"Huh. I can see why you people chose to call this place Eden," Shepard said, looking around the non-shelled area and seeing the Eden Prime's natural look.

"It's a beautiful place. Quiet too, unless being targeted by machines from the unknown," Jenkins chimed, sitting next to Kaidan. Normally the seat was reserved for the tech specialist, but Ashley was not sure what the seat was for in the civilian variant. Besides, Jenkins knew the area; having him up front where he could see could only help them.

"Geth haven't been seen beyond the veil for 200 years, why would they suddenly target a colony like this? Aside from the beacon," Ashley wondered aloud before glancing at Shepard. "How much experience does the Empire have with the geth?"

"None. I mean, there was one time when the Emperor, let me think..." Shepard stopped for a moment as if she trying to remember, "I think it was Barbossa the First who tried to talk to them. He sent a small, unarmed ship with a delegation onboard in order to contact them. The Empire never heard from them again. That's the extent of our interaction with them."

"The geth shoot anyone trying to enter the Veil," Nihlus elaborated, nodding his head, "The Citadel tried to contact them few times after the Geth War, but nothing came from it. They are very isolationist. Nobody really knows what they have been doing there, only that they protect their borders fiercely."

"So, not only did they break two hundred years of silence, they somehow bypassed both the Star Empire and the batarians, all to attack a colony on the other side of the galaxy from their territory to get some recently dug up Prothean beacon," Ashley summed up, "Something does not add up here..."

"A lot of things don't add up," Kaidan added from the driver's seat.

"Maybe, but this whole attack just seems odd. It feels like an excessive action to take for a single beacon," Ashley countered, "I mean, I get that it could propel one's technological advances a lot, but to go to these lengths? Impaling people, turning them into these husks?" Nihlus nodded at the term.

"Details of the Geth War are scarce, but I can safely say that these husks are something new," Nihlus added, before turning to Jacob, "Anything out there?"

"Still quiet. Nothing, apart from few gasbags."

"They're harmless. Just float around. I heard someone say they're actually floating plants, rather than animals," Jenkins explained. "Apparently they are capable of prot... photon... photosynthesis," Jenkins stumbled over the word.

"Fall asleep in chem?" Kaidan teased.

"Hey, you don't need a college degree to shoot bad guys. Especially…" Jenkins paused as he glanced towards the starport in the distance and instantly deflated. "Especially if they're attacking your home."

"Your family nearby?" Shepard asked.

"Nah, we're a good couple hours out from the starport, but still… you saw all that AA in the distance."

"We'll check on them once we're done here," Ashley added. "But until the area's secure, keep your focus."

"Yes ma'am."

The rest of the trip was largely travelled in silence. The group checked their weapons and equipment as they neared the starport. Ashley and Shepard also raided the onboard first aid kit to replenish the medigel supplies they had left.

"Keep your eyes open, who knows what is waiting for us at the starport," Ashley ordered, earning a nod from Jacob. Ashley moved to side, popping open a hatch and peering out. She reached for binoculars and looked around the starport. She saw several geth and the bug-like aliens fussing over a cylindrical grey device about the size of a man's torso.

"Nihlus, can you see what those are?" She asked, giving Nihlus some room and letting him to take a look.

"Shit, those are nukes," he said, with a turian version of grimace on his face.

"WHAT!?" Jenkins exclaimed, turning around in shock in the middle of drawing his assault rifle.

"I think I can see the beacon too. Big tower-like object on a side dock."

"Yeah, that sounds like the beacon," Jacob confirmed.

"I can also see several of those bug aliens around it. Most likely preparing to take it with them," Nihlus reported and came down, closing the hatch behind him. "Geth infantry defending the nukes, bugs around the beacon. The nukes are right in the area while the beacon is being held on a side platform.

"God damn it," Ashley cursed. "We can't just let them take the beacon, but we can't ignore those nukes," she weighed her options. "Kaidan, how good is your tech?"

"I think I could deal with them, but no promises," Kaidan said, shaking his head.

"Damn it. Nihlus?"

"I'm certain that I could disarm them," the turian confirmed.

"Okay, Nihlus, you go with Team Two. Let's see..." Ashley looked between Jenkins and Jacob, before nodding, "Alenko, you're with us, we might need the tech support. Taylor, you and Jenkins cover Nihlus while he disarms the bombs. Once you are done with them, come and support us. Our job is to secure the beacon, or at least slow them long enough for you to reinforce us," a round of confirmations rang out. "Alright people, sync up your hard suits. Last dance of the day. Let's make it count."

"Last dance. Not ominous at all…" Jacob muttered under his breath as Ashley's helmet display adjusted to the new squad arrangements.

XXXXXXXXX

Nihlus looked down at his omni-tool's scanner and nodded as Team One was moving out, also noting the sync up with the two marines' hardsuit data and his omni-tool. "We've got four bombs, and based on the readings we have t-minus five minutes before this place blows!"

"Shit, we gotta move!" Jenkins shouted as the three moved up the ramp. Pulse fire began to rain down almost immediately as geth infantry came out from nearby crates and from behind pillars. "Geth ahead! Troopers and- watch out, rocket launcher!"

Nihlus used his jet boots to side step out of the way of a rocket launched his way while the two Alliance soldiers ducked into cover - Jenkins behind a crate and Jacob behind a pillar. Raising his omni-tool, Nihlus overloaded the geth's rocket trooper, which Jacob then pulled towards them with his biotics while Jenkins suppressed the other geth with his rifle.

"First bomb is just to the left!" Nihlus shouted as he took cover next to Jenkins, rising out of cover and blasting the geth rocket trooper with his shotgun. "Keep those geth down while I disable it!"

"Yes sir!" Jenkins shouted as the two leapt over the crate and Jacob rushed forward from behind the pillar, both marines firing at the geth that were coming in as Nihlus knelt next to the first bomb. _Crude, but effective,_ he thought as he began hacking it, adjusting his hacking algorithms to compensate for the firewalls blocking it. The nuclear device beeped ten seconds later and shut down. Nihlus removed the core and then shot it with his shotgun, ruining the device.

"Device disabled!" he shouted as he turned to see the fight. Jacob and Jenkins had managed to push the geth guards back, but there was another wave coming at the next bomb and two white plated geth dropped in from above. "Shock Troopers!" Nihlus warned as he saw them. Jacob looked up in time, catching one of the dropping geth with a biotic field and pulling it towards them. The geth bounced over Jenkins and landed behind the _Normandy_ marine as he had taken cover. Jenkins looked at it briefly before kicking it over the edge, sending it plummeting into the space that split the main section of the spaceport.

Jenkins rose to fire again when a sniper round caught his shoulder and knocked him backwards. Nihlus ducked into cover, checking his scanner and finding a geth signature far enough away and in the right direction to match where Jenkins had fallen.

"Jenkins!" Jacob shouted, sprinting over to where the wounded marine was and dragging him behind cover.

"Taylor, geth sniper ahead behind the crate stack three high, thirty degrees to the left. I've got Jenkins."

Jacob paused for a moment, then nodded. As the geth sniper rose to fire again, Jacob pulled it with biotics and launched it into the open, allowing the marine to finish it off. Meanwhile Nihlus hurried to Jenkins supplied an emergency medi-gel injection to Jenkins' armor, along with some Spectre issue stimulants.

"Whoa," Jenkins muttered as he found himself moving in mere seconds. "What was-"

"Spectre gear," Nihlus answered quickly as Jacob blasted another geth with his shotgun. "Now get in there - the second bomb is right behind the next pillar!"

Jenkins looked in that direction and nodded. Jacob leapt over the crates they were behind and Jenkins followed, suppressing the geth again with their firepower as Nihlus took out the geth shock trooper with a shotgun blast that knocked one of its arms off, then ran over to the bomb and disarmed it. As he finished, he saw the synthetics had regrouped again and were throwing more troopers into the fray.

Nihlus looked at the geth with a yellow paint job and launched a disc from his omni-tool into it, hitting it in the flashlight 'eye', and it proceeded to burn out the nearby platforms as the two marines continued to spray fire down, catching the geth with their barriers down as the flamethrower wielding one reset from the system hack.

"Damn, are these geth crazy?!" Jenkins shouted, "They're gonna fucking die if they stay here!"

"Geth are machines," Nihlus chided as he hurled a high explosive grenade into the mix of geth, blowing the group into the air for Jacob to pull with biotics, slamming them into the ground, or for Jenkins to shoot. While young and definitely in need of experience, Nihlus had to admit that the kid had potential as they moved to the next bomb. "It is likely they can upload themselves out of the blast radius to another server-" he was now next to the bomb and activated his omni-tool. "Cover me, we've got two minutes left!"

"You heard him!" Jacob ordered, "This spot's exposed!"

Several rounds bounced off of Nihlus' kinetic barrier before he could finish disarming the bomb, and his barrier broke as he finished.

"Nihlus is taking fire!" Jacob warned, the marine likely getting the update from his heads up display.

"Damn it!" he cursed as the disarming process succeeded and he hurled himself to a prone position to let his shields recharge. "Taylor, how many?"

The marine grunted as his kinetic barrier broke and he replaced it with a biotic version. "Half dozen of the troopers, but I saw something big entering the other side of the starport before it got obscured by the flooring! Big and slow!"

"Copy. One more push, one bomb left!" Nihlus ordered. His readout read that they only had a minute and a half left.

"Get the fuck off my homeworld you stupid terminators!" Jenkins shouted as they sprang out of cover one last time. Nihlus took point, launching into the geth with his jet boots and grabbing the nearest one, electricity charged through his omni-tool and shocking the geth he grappled before he flung it into two troopers nearby. The two had tried to fire on him, but instead shot up the trooper hurled into them. Jacob grabbed another of the geth with biotics and flung it into the others which Jenkins began to lay into with his rifle.

"Last one, we'll cover you!" Jacob shouted as he used his biotics to shove a crate in front of Nihlus to obscure him from the geth coming up the other side of the port. Nihlus only needed a brief glimpse to see it was a significant wave as he started disarming it.

"Holy shit!" Jenkins shouted, "What the hell is _that?!_"

Nihlus tried to put aside the fear he heard in the marine's voice, but found himself propelled into the wall on his right before he fully processed what had happened, slamming into it. His head began to ache immediately from hitting it. Shaking it off, he glanced out to see a three and a half meter tall geth marching in with what looked like a heavy pulse cannon. "Oh Spirits…" Nihlus muttered as he hit his omni-tool. "Saren, where are you? Saren, come in!" static answered him. "Commander Williams, do you copy?" more static.

"Jamming?!" Jacob shouted in horror.

"Must be," Nihlus answered as he attempted to overload the new geth - which he finally recognized as a Prime-class unit and thus able to jam communications, as well as being a command and control platform that was reportedly able to improve the efficiency of nearby geth. "We don't have time to be fancy, just keep it out of the fight! Take down the shields now!"

Jenkins threw down his overheated assault rifle, grabbing his sniper rifle and firing it into the geth prime before ducking down as it fired a pulse round at them in return, which blew the top crate in the stack behind them off. Jacob had also overheated his shotgun blasting at it and was using his biotics on a nearby geth trooper and hurled it at the prime, the trooper simply bouncing off the geth's kinetic barriers as Nihlus hurled another grenade at it, again shrugged off but obliterated the smaller synthetic.

"We don't have time for this!" Jenkins shouted as he dropped his overheated shotgun and started overheating his pistol into the large geth.

_He's right,_ Nihlus noted as he noticed the nuke itself. "Taylor, throw a crate at the geth! Jenkins, take my shotgun and keep shooting!" he tossed the gun to the human, who caught it and began blasting away while Jacob - grunting under the strain from his heavy use of biotics - hurled the crate at the geth as Nihlus threw himself next to the bomb and jammed his omni-tool into it, running on instinct as he plugged his program in.

The device beeped and Nihlus let out a sigh of relief as the last nuke disarmed. Then found himself flying backwards as the leading geth hit the ground next to him him with his pulse cannon. Nihlus hit the ground near where the third bomb had been with a rough landing, skidding along the surface. Nihlus groaned in pain as he came around, his armor applying an emergency overdose of medi-gel as it picked up the drop in his vital signs and his armor began injecting stimulants into his body, overclocking his normal biological limitations to keep him active. He knew he was going to regret this once he got back on the_ Normandy_, but he had to keep fighting as his shields were recharging from being depleted protecting him from that pulse blast.

He grabbed his pistol and used his jet boots to leap over the crates as he found Jenkins and Jacob hiding behind a pillar, panting and looking worn. Nihlus landed behind the crates nearby and glanced to them. "What's the status on that Prime?" he shouted over.

"Its shields are down but we can't punch through its armor!" Jacob warned. "I can't warp it either - my amp's fried!"

Nihlus cursed silently as he considered other options. Primes would have too much processing power for his omni-tool's overrides and that armor would limit the effectiveness of his other tech attacks. "Any of you have incendiary ammo? Or maybe tungsten?"

"What does yours fire?" Jenkins asked as he looked down at the shotgun as a pulse blast vaporized a wrecked crate near Nihlus, "Blew over those troopers nicely."

"Sledgehammer. Not going to punch past that heavy armor quickly."

"I got the hot stuff," Jacob said as he held his shotgun, "but I'm not sure I have enough to burn that armor - this thing's battered," the prime fired another pulse blast, blowing away a chunk of the pillar that the two humans were hiding behind as Jenkins crouched.

"Okay then, new plan," Nihlus ordered. "Me and Jenkins draw its attention, you get in close. Jenkins, stay on this side, I'll boost to the other side and harass it from there."

"Okay, got it," Jenkins said with a nod, clearly rattled. "Uh, you need a rifle?"

"I'll be fine," he answered, though he was beginning to wish his assault rifle was not being repaired after he broke it smashing in a krogan's skull desperately in his last mission. "On my mark. Three, two, one… MARK!"

Nihlus leapt away with his jet boots, crossing the gap and the geth prime was tracing him, a pulse blast hitting a bridge behind them and leaving a gap in it. Nihlus landed and opened fire with his pistol, hitting the geth and leaving pockmarks in its armor. As it turned, he sprinted down the pathway as a pulse round trailed him. Jenkins and Jacob had closed in on their side and were blasting away, knocking an antenna off the prime's back.

Nihlus' headset immediately came to life. _"Shit!"_ Jenkins was shouting in the radio as a pulse blast hit the crate nearby. _"Shit shit shit, Taylor just got knocked out!"_ taking cover behind a stack of crates, Nihlus checked his omni-tool and saw that Jacob's hardsuit reported he was alive, but injured.

"Stay calm, I will flank the geth and get its attention, then you blast it with the incendiaries in Taylor's shotgun!"

"_We need to pull back, get the others to help!"_ Jenkins shouted in a panic. _"This thing's too much for us!"_ a pulse blast echoed it as Jenkins dove away from where he had been taking cover.

Nihlus looked over the spaceport and shook his head. "Corporal, this geth can take on any squad that the local garrison can throw at it. Do you want this thing running around?" He opened fire at the geth again and launched another tech disc to try and overload it. The disc missed, but the shots got its attention and he dove to the side to avoid another pulse blast sent his way.

"_No but-"_

"If that thing runs around and stays behind after the geth leave and gets missed by mop up, what happens if it runs into civilians? If it runs into your family?"

"_I…"_ Jenkins clearly was shaken, but Nihlus heard a sharp inhale from the young soldier as a pulse round blasted into the crate over him and rained metallic pieces and packaging foam around him that bled into his kinetic barrier. _"Okay, let me know when, I grabbed the shotgun."_

Nihlus nodded, checking his omni-tool and the melee attack program he had installed into it. _A useless weapon, the omni-blade,_ he mused as he considered conventional wisdom. _But in the right circumstances…_ he sprinted towards the open space and leapt into the gap between the two sides of the spaceport, activating his jet boots to cross it again as the geth fired at him. The pulse round went wide but skirted his kinetic barriers, the impact dropping half of his shields and knocking him off course to the right - but he still landed and had its attention. He launched another tech disc, shocking the geth's systems before he unloaded into it with his pistol, leaping to the side with his jet boots as it retaliated with another pulse blast from its cannon.

Jenkins sprang into action from a crate behind it, blasting into the geth's back and from the clanging metal and the burning chunks that blew off, the repeated strikes had found their way into a weak spot and broke it. The geth howled with the strange synthetic screech the geth used for verbal communication as white fluid sprayed out of it. The geth turned around, smashing Jenkins from below with its pulse cannon and knocking the marine several meters back.

Nihlus leapt at the prime, using his jet boots to get the height advantage he needed and gripped one of the upper tubes on the geth's back with an active omni-tool in his other hand.

Omni-tools… such a ubiquitous device in the galaxy. In the hands of most, it was a communicator, scanner, flashlight, and mini computer. In the hands of soldiers, it was used in the applications of combat stimulants and after Sirta Foundation released it to the galaxy, as a way to apply first aid by medi-gel. In the hands of engineers or other tech specialists like himself, it could be used to flash manufacture small discs to carry various attack programs to their targets.

But there was another function as old as the device itself, one underused and considered a desperate or foolish man's weapon by most, for when an asari wanted to cut a tag she forgot to remove from her new dress. Nihlus' omni-tool had flash forged a silicon-carbide monomolecular blade, held in place by mass effect fields generated by the device itself, illuminated with an orange warning light, and laced with electric energy similar to that used in his overload discs.

And with the blade fully deployed, he shoved the blade into the geth prime itself and wrestled with it, moving the blade to do as much damage as he could as the geth howled again and thrashed around, Nihlus pulling the blade out and stabbing again, and again, and again. And he kept stabbing until he found himself flung off as the geth dropped its pulse weapon and reached behind him, grabbing him by the arm he was using to hold onto it and yanking him off.

Nihlus hit the spaceport flooring with a thud that shook his bones and skidded over the edge, barely managing to grab the edge as the geth marched towards him, now sporting a sizable hole in its chest that had almost gone all the way through, chattering away in the strange, clicky language that the geth spoke when one more blast came from behind - illuminated orange and searing the geth's internals. The geth prime suddenly powered down and collapsed forward, white conductive fluids still spilling from it and staining Nihlus' armor.

"Whoa!" Nihlus shouted as he quickly flung himself around as the geth fell where he had been and felt his fingers slipping when a hand grabbed him before he fell and pulled him back over. Finding himself face down on the starport's floor - an uncomfortably familiar sight to him now - he looked up and saw Jenkins, bleeding heavily and slumped against the ground with all three shotguns lying next to him. Nihlus forced himself to ignore the pain and pulled himself up, kneeling next to the wounded human.

"Y… you did it…" Jenkins said weakly. Nihlus pulled out his omni-tool and scanned; he was bleeding out badly.

"No, we did. You finished it off, and Taylor weakened it," he glanced up at the other human soldier who was still unconscious but alive and stable based on his hardsuit's transponder data. Nihlus looked down at Jenkins again and activated his omni-tool. "Here, this should keep you stable until…"

Nihlus' head jerked as a loud voice echoed from his transmitter. _"Spectre Kryik, do you read?! I repeat, Nihlus Kyrik come in!"_

"Loud but not wholly clear, Captain," Nihlus answered though the hear static underlying the entire transmission.

"_Sorry, but we lost contact when you entered the starport. The enemy forces are pulling back - whatever you did must have broken their command and control. Rear Admiral Michalovich is arriving with his fleet units and the enemy is pulling out."_

"Good. Can you get a medevac to the spaceport? Jenkins is injured badly and so's another Alliance soldier we picked up," Jenkins fell unconscious. _Damn it, need a medic here!_ "Team One, come in!" static. "Anderson?"

"_We're coming into the starport but we can't raise them either. Something about the beacon is disrupting their helmet radios. We can barely read you."_

Nihlus paused as he looked down at Jenkins again who was stabilizing thanks to the medi-gel when he heard a loud bang and a flash of light.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Take care and call us the moment you are done," Ashley said as they disembarked from the VT7. Nihlus nodded and gestured his team to follow him, while Ashley gestured for Kaidan and Shepard to follow her.

Rushing up the stairs the team immediately met a group of the invading bug aliens milling around. Shepard and Kaidan quickly lifted two of them into the air, shooting while running for the cover while Ashley opened fire with her shotgun, causing the third to stagger and finally fall down after a second hit. The other aliens noticed the commotion and immediately took cover. To her dismay, Ashley noticed that the aliens had husks in their ranks, running straight forward for them.

"Shepard! Take down the husks!" she shouted.

"On it!" Shepard responded, throwing the husks back with her biotics and opening fire with her shotgun. Ashley switched back to her assault rifle and began to fire at the aliens hiding behind walls to try and keep them down. Kaidan pulled another alien out of its cover biotically before shooting it.

Ashley herself threw a grenade at one alien, who had the bad timing of popping out of cover just as the grenade hit the crate behind it, fell down, and landed at its feet. The grenade detonated and the alien fell to the ground with its legs blown off and the lower torso shredded. Ashley gestured for Kaidan and Shepard to move forward, while she began to fire widely to provide covering fire.

"Shields down!" Kaidan shouted as he dove for cover further up. Shepard picked a fuel canister that was laying around with her biotics and threw it at the aliens. It hit one alien in the face and skidded next to the cover of another. Ashley took aim and fired at the canister, causing it to explode and force the aliens out of their cover, into open where concentrated fire brought them down quickly.

"Wounds?" Ashley asked quickly.

"No," Shepard answered, moving forward with her weapon raised.

"No and the K-barrier is back up," Kaidan reported. Ashley nodded and followed Shepard, with Kaidan falling behind her.

"Wait, this way," Ashley said as she grabbed Shepard's shoulder, gesturing down a ramp that she saw to lead to a loading platform. Shepard turned around and followed her, with the group coming down to a platform and seeing the beacon at the other end of it.

"Nihlus, come in. We got a visual on the beacon," Ashley said to her com-set. However, there was no response. "Nihlus, come in," still nothing. "Team Two, report."

"Jamming?" Kaidan asked.

"I don't know," Ashley switched the channels. "Anderson, this is Williams. We got a visual on the beacon."

"_Wil-ams, go-sta-ing our t-us?"_ came the heavily distorted voice of Anderson, punctuated by bursts of static.

"Sir, I can't hear you, say again?" Ashley asked.

"_Secu-Be-fleet-two-"_ Anderson's voice responded before cutting off completely. Several more bugs flew up to the platform, between the team and the beacon.

"Take cover!" Ashley shouted and the group moved to whatever cover they could find, while the insectoid aliens opened fire.

"That one at the back looks different!" Shepard shouted. Ashley peeked over, her K-barrier flashing from several hits but she managed to see a grey colored alien at the back of the group before she ducked back down. The alien glowed for a moment, before releasing a biotic blast at Kaidan, who had gotten out of cover and instantly attracted the attention of the aliens.

Ashley turned around and opened fire at one of the aliens, breaking its barrier - much to her surprise it was biotically based - forcing it to scramble for cover. Shepard grabbed it in a biotic field and threw it at the others. The grey alien then turned its attention to Shepard and threw another biotic blast, hitting her and causing her to skid across the platform as Kaidan took cover next to Ashley.

Ashley threw a grenade at the creature and checked Shepard's status from the HUD, thankful that the group had decided to synchronize them during their trip. Shepard was alive and was starting to stir, but she was going to feel that later and her kinetic barrier was down.

"That grey one must be some sort of commander," Kaidan said before rising up to take a few suppressive shots with his rifle, "Those aliens are moving way too well! It's like some sort of hive mind!"

Ashley had to agree, the aliens were moving like they were a single entity with their bodies merely being extension of some central will. The alien Ashley and Shepard had attacked was still down and other one was bleeding from the shrapnel, but the grey one was still looking unharmed.

"Kaidan! Can you pull off those fuel tanks?" Ashley shouted, pointing at tanks used to store fuel for the shuttles. Kaidan looked at them for a moment and raised a hand, before he and the tanks began to glow from the biotic grip. There was a groan, but the tanks didn't move. Then, a second field grabbed it and Ashley saw that Shepard was also glowing from biotic usage. Another groan and the tank fell on the aliens. Most of them got out of the way in time, but two of them were flattened underneath the structure.

Ashley fired several rounds into the tank, but nothing happened. _You're joking,_ she thought as she fired again to no effect. She threw a grenade at it, breaking a hole in the side of the tank and revealing that it was empty.

"Out of all the possible fuel tanks, why did that have to be empty!?" she cursed.

"Be thankful it was empty, the explosion would have taken us and the beacon too!" Kaidan shouted back before using his biotics to block a the enemy leader's own biotic field. Ashley bit back her reply, knowing that he was right. Still, it was two less aliens to deal with.

"Damn it, we can't stay here, we're too exposed!" Ashley warned as she jumped behind another crate as the grey alien threw another biotic blast that warped the one she had hid behind. The three were now taking cover behind the same crate.

"Cover me, I am about to do something stupid," Shepard said as she stood up. Ashley looked at Shepard dumbly for a moment before realizing that she was glowing with biotic power.

"What are you…" Ashley started to ask, but was interrupted by Shepard floating a mere foot off the ground before she disappeared in a blur. Ashley looked around and saw that Shepard had appeared in middle of the aliens, hitting one of them as she landed before moving to shoot another.

"She threw herself?" Kaidan asked in shock, "Nobody throws themselves!"

"You crazy imp," Ashley muttered as she vaulted over the long crate, opening fire at the disoriented aliens and moving forward. Kaidan was following her, biotically lifting one alien into the air and throwing another at the wall. Shepard was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the grey alien. A blade had come out of her omni-tool and she was trying to cut through the alien's own blade as the two locked melee weapons.

There was a distinct scream and Ashley turned just in time to open fire at several husks that ran out of a door leading to a tool shed. These husks, just like the aliens before, were moving in much more coordinated manner, waving and popping around cover rather than running straight forward.

"Support Shepard! I'll take care of the husks!" Ashley shouted, switching to her shotgun and blasting one husk in the chest, sending it flying backwards. The other one tried to grab her, but she hit it in the face with the shotgun's stock, brought the business end of it around, and fired. She kept backing away from the husks, who were being much more careful now as they seemed to realize she could handle herself.

One thing that caught her eye, however, was the fact that these husk had an Alliance armor patterns on them._ Intact_ Alliance armor, with no signs of battle damage that she was not inflicting herself. However, their heads had large wounds in them, exposing more cybernetics than any other husk they had met so far. Their armor made them somewhat more difficult to kill, but thankfully their kinetic barriers were not active.

Then she noticed a plasma container next her feet and smiled. One kick later, the canister was rolling towards the husks. She fired, missing twice but hitting the third time causing the canister to explode and release burning plasma all over the husks.

Still, two of them were alive and had apparently abandoned all sort of tactical approach and were merely running for her. She quickly gunned them down, turning towards the grey alien. The alien was currently pushing a crate that was laying on top of it. Shepard was once again laying on the floor, holding her head and shaking it, with Kaidan pulling her into cover and administering medi-gel. She ran to them and knelt next to them.

"What happened?" she asked as she looked at the two.

"Damn thing is tough. Usually when you stab someone they die," Shepard muttered, looking down at her arm, where her armor had bended like steel in a factory. "Busted my omni-tool, so there goes my blade. Not that I am looking to get into melee with that thing again."

"I'm out of medi-gel and my amp nearly fritzed. Managed to throw that box on it, though," Kaidan added, giving the last set of medi-gel to Shepard. Ashley checked her belt.

"Alright, I got one more grenade, and it's a frag. Split up and keep firing. Sooner or later that barrier it has to go down," Ashley said, earning a nod from Shepard and Kaidan. She then switched back to her assault rifle and braced herself, counting down silently. _Three… two…. one… go!_

She darted out of cover, running to the opposite end and opening fire. The alien quickly wheeled around and opened fire with its weapon, causing Ashleys K-barrier to flash before collapsing completely and a few rounds shot into her chest armor, causing her to stagger and hit the ground.

At that moment, Kaidan appeared and opened fire with his rifle. Since he was not running at the moment, he had much better aim and the aliens barrier flashed from the numerous hits, forcing it to redirect its attention. Ashley scampered for cover and threw her last grenade at the alien before ducking back down. A loud bang told her she had hit the alien and her kinetic barrier was beginning to recharge.

She peered out and opened fire, just as Shepard skidded into cover behind another crate between her and Kaidan, adding her rifle fire to the mix. With the three of them firing at the grey alien, its barrier flashed again and again before finally collapsing. Shepard glowed for a moment and the alien was lifted in the air and thrown over the rails, unable to stop the mass effect fields with no biotic barrier.

"That drop should kill it," Shepard said confidently, before there was a buzzing sound and the alien flew back up and landed on its feet. "Oh, right. Wings," Shepard groaned in disappointment. She dove behind another crate as she grunted and put a hand on the back of her neck, "Well, there went my biotics for rest of the day!"

"Right, let's do this old fashioned way then. Everyone, open fire!" Ashley ordered back, all three popping out of cover and firing at the alien. Kaidan's rifle overheated first, forcing him to switch to a pistol, followed by Shepard who switched to her shogun. Ashley's rifle overheated last and she too switched to her shotgun, firing as fast the weapon allowed. Eventually, she had to switch to her sniper rifle for one last shot, hitting it directly in the chest and knocking it onto its back.

"Cease fire," she said finally as the sniper rifle began to beep angrily at her as it was overheated. The alien captain's chest and legs more or less resembled swiss cheese and pasta sauce mangled together in a pile, "I think it's dead."

"Tough bastard," Shepard cursed, "That was all we had and we only got half-way into it's chest."

"Well, in my medical opinion, unless you are synthetic, missing half of your chest will keep you dead," Kaidan quipped as his pistol cooled down again.

"Let's not take any chances," Ashley said, walking to the alien and putting several rounds into it's head with her sidearm before glancing towards their objective. "Let's take a look at our prize."

The team walked to the beacon, which was shimmering with an eerie green glow.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Ashley asked curiously as she tilted her head towards it.

"I have no idea. I wreck stuff, not study it. That's the Mutzali's job," Shepard said with a shrug. "Better call it in."

Ashley reached for her comlink and dialed for the command channel. "Anderson, the beacon is secure. Do you copy?" static answered her question. "Well, I guess we just have to wait and hope that Nihlus and others managed to disarm those nukes."

"Alright. I'll check if there is any medi-gel around," Kaidan said, turning to walk to the first-aid closet by the wall.

Ashley looked over the beacon, trying to discern what it was doing. She took few steps forward to get a better look when the beacon suddenly flared to life and she felt something start to drag her towards it. Nothing visible was pulling her. No hands, no visible mass effect fields, just an invisible force dragging her towards it like a damsel in a horror flick. She tried to fight it, straining as she tried to move backwards with her feet, but to no avail and her feet remained rooted to the ground and sliding towards the ancient device.

"COMMANDER!" Kaidan shouted, trying to create his own mass effect fields with biotics but failing to do so. Shepard attempted to do so as well, failing and looking around for anything to use. Finally, she ran towards Ashley and grabbed her, throwing her away from the beacon.

"Shepard!" Ashley shouted as she skidded to a stop on her back, the beacon pulling Shepard towards it. Suddenly, Shepard was thrust into the air, facing the beacon, her face twisted in pain. Ashley tried to run to help her, but Kaidan was holding her back.

"No, don't touch her! It's too dangerous!" Kaidan shouted, holding her by the waist as the ancient device had its way with the Knight Hospitaller.

Suddenly, the beacon exploded, dropping Shepard to the ground and launching her backwards several meters.

"Kaidan! Check her vitals!" Ashley shouted as she scrambled to her feet and hurried over. Kaidan ran to Shepard and began running his omni-tool over her.

"Alive, but knocked out. Lots of brain activity. We need to get her to a real doctor," he said, turning to her with eyes wide open in terror.

"Anderson! Answer me!" Ashley shouted into her comlink.

"_Williams! Finally, we have been trying to raise you for some time now. Nihlus reported back already, the bombs have been taken care of,"_ Anderson's voice came from the comms, clear as ever.

"Well, that's good to hear, but we need medevac, Shepard is down!"

"_Damn it, how bad is she?"_

"I don't know, we found the beacon and secured it. It did something to her and now she's knocked out."

"_And the beacon?"_ She could hear that Anderson was just close to being afraid to ask.

"Blew itself up. It was glowing when we got here."

"_Damn it, this is just keeps getting better and better... Hold on, let me put Nihlus on the line."_

"_Commander? Are you okay?"_ Nihlus' voice echoed over.

"I am okay, but Shepard is down. The beacon exploded after doing something to her. I can give you the full report later."

"_I see... Jenkins is badly hurt, and Taylor is down too. What about Saren?"_

"No sign of him, nor the troops that were supposed to be here. No altars or anything the geth used earlier."

"_Anderson, can you raise Saren?" _Nihlus asked Anderson.

"_Saren? Who's that?"_

"_A fellow Spectre. We met him earlier."_

"_Let me see,"_ Anderson's voice disappeared for few minutes, before returning, _"No response. But, the 63rd Scout Flotilla just entered the system and the last geth ships in the area are pulling out. We will leave this for Mikhailovich to mop up. We're coming into the starport now. Chakwas will be waiting for you on board. I want full debriefing ASAP."_

"Yes sir," Ashley said.

"_I need to contact the Citadel first, Captain,"_ Nihlus cut in.

"_Very well, I'll patch you through,"_ Anderson said with a resigned sigh. _"We need to head there anyways. The Council is going to want to hear about the geth attack."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Authors Notes:**

_Here we go, the end of Eden Prime. Compared to the games, where everybody will just keep fighting despite getting shot, we are determined to show that yes, these people will get hurt. A lot. Expect to see visits to med-bay to become a regular occurrence, rather one time events because Chakwas needs some brandy._

_However, by the same token we are taking great advantage of Mass Effect's advanced medical technology to avert Stormtrooper accuracy problems and actually hurt the characters. but allow them to get back up. But, medi-gel is no substitute for proper medical attention, so they will end up visiting Chakwas fairly regularly._

_This chapter was somewhat split, with Luke Danger handling Nihlus' section and Mandemon handling the beacon. Both and Teen Spirit then read over the rest and smoothed it out, fixing problems seen and preparing it for the final copy that is now written._

_Also, once again, the codex entries. This time we have one for the geth and an overview of Hospitallers. This one is cut from a much, much longer overview of the twelve Chivalric Orders and is not intended to be in-depth, more of a brief overview of all the major points._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Chivalric Orders - Orders Overview (Subsection, Hospitallers)**

The Knight Hospitallers, lead by the Grandmaster Cyril von Hofstadter, are notorious as anti-slavery crusaders who had a major hand in the Batarian Crusade. While relatively generalist in capabilities, they are one of the more militarized orders and do less charity than others. However, due to their militarized focus they are a common sight on border colonies or areas at risk as well as occasionally conducting offensives into the Terminus Systems to take out slaver groups. This makes them a somewhat controversial group as the retaliatory raids for such are well publicized by slavers attempting to discredit them. However, many freed slaves whom the Hospitallers have escorted to the safety of the Citadel Space tell many heroic tales with a similar theme. Slavers being broken and destroyed, liberty gained, and hope rekindled.

**Codex: Geth**

The geth are a humanoid race of networked A.I.s. They were created by the quarians 300 years ago as tools of labor and war. When the geth showed signs of self-evolution, the quarians , fearing the represeal from the Citadel Council, attempted to exterminate them before they could fully gain sapience. The geth won the resulting war. This example serves as a warning to the rest of the galaxy of the potential dangers of artificial intelligence and has lead to the legally enforced, systematic repression of artificial intelligences throughout galactic society.

The geth possess a unique distributed intelligence. An individual has rudimentary animal instincts, but as their numbers and proximity increase, the apparent intelligence of each individual improves. In groups, they can reason, analyze situations, and use tactics as well as any organic race.

Geth space is located at the trailing end of the Perseus Arm, beyond the lawless Terminus Systems and borders of the Star Empire. The Perseus Veil, an obscuring "dark nebula" of opaque gas and dust, lies between their space, the Empire's borders and the Terminus Systems


	4. Normandy: Eden Prime Aftermath

"Stupid... Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Ashley cursed to herself as she stowed her equipment away. Chakwas had released her and the rest of the team after going over them and telling them to avoid getting shot so much. The exceptions were Jenkins, Taylor and Shepard who were going to spend a while recovering, with Shepard still knocked out.

"Beating yourself over something?" a distinct voice startled her. Turning around, she saw that Nihlus had come downstairs.

"Well, yeah," Ashley said with a light shrug, "Shepard is currently in the med-bay because I was being stupid. I never should have approached that beacon."

"You could not have known that it was rigged," Nihlus said as he walked up to her.

"Yeah, but I should have realized it was activated. Should have contacted you first," she countered.

"You are not an archaeologist, nor a tech specialist, nor did you have access to the Spectre files on prothean beacons. You had no idea and no way of knowing. Besides, nobody in our team died and according to Chakwas, Shepard is physically alright, apart from the wounds she got from the geth and those unknown aliens. She should wake up any time now."

"Doesn't excuse my actions. I should have known better."

"You do realize that Alenko is also blaming himself?"

"What does he have to blame himself for?" Ashley asked, turning around as Nihlus leaned on an empty equipment locker.

"For burning himself out. As he sees it, if he had moderated his use of biotics earlier, he would have been able to pull you out, without needing Shepard to pull her heroics."

"He doesn't need to feel bad about that. Nothing he could have done about it," Ashley countered, closing her equipment locker. "It should be me in the med-bay, not her."

"Oh?" Nihlus asked as he tilted his head, "People get hurt on battlefield. You shouldn't feel bad about it."

"I have no problem with getting hurt. I fear neither pain nor death. I just don't like people dying for me," Ashley explained, sitting on the weapons bench that normally was used to maintain weapons. The thought of giving her life for the Alliance had never bothered her. Other people dying to save her… that did.

"The weight of being the commander," Nihlus nodded slowly. "I doubt this is the first time someone is out of action from your command, correct?" Nihlus asked, taking a step forward and he looking at her directly.

"No. I've lost people before. It doesn't make it any easier," Ashley explained as she looked down and considered some of the men and women who had died under her command during her live missions in the ICT program and her service with Anderson before he took command of the _Normandy_. "I just prefer to bring my team alive out of everything. Alive and relatively okay."

"Well, nobody died so that is a plus in my books. Once Shepard wakes up, you can ask her. I doubt she would blame you."

"Uh, thanks. I think."

"You're welcome," Nihlus answered. "And for the record, you handled the mission extremely well. Perhaps there were things that could have been done better, but we have the benefit of hindsight. In the moment, you rolled with changing circumstances and kept us moving," he paused. "You said that some of the husks you ran into wore Alliance armor and had been shot in the head?"

Ashley closed her eyes, remembering the husks and shivering. The idea of that kind of violation of someone's dead body? "Yeah, they were. No offense, Nihlus, but I think Powell was right about Saren. Those weren't lucky headshots and there was no battle damage before I started shooting. I'm not sure exactly what forensics will be able to turn up after the damage I caused, but those looked like execution shots rather than someone sniping."

Nihlus paused and shook his head. "It's possible, but I need more proof before I commit to that. At the very least, we need to find out what went wrong. Saren said he would be at the spaceport and given one monorail was taken, he should have been there. And then I could not contact him after the jamming was gone."

"I dunno," she retorted as she was surprised how resistant the turian was to the possibility. "it seems like a pretty clear cut case at least as far as detaining him for questioning. I mean, sure, maybe something happened, but considering just how out of the blue this whole mess was, if I was the Council I would have him come in while the matter was investigated."

"Spectres are not drawn in so easily," Nihlus explained. "We are above the law, only answering to the Council. Being a Spectre means that you have the freedom and initiative to do whatever you must to protect the Citadel. If that means bombing a civilian building full of innocents to prevent a plague from wiping out a city, then that's acceptable. If it means assassinating major leaders, we can do that."

Ashley paused and looked down at her hands, wondering if she could do something like that. "That seems… risky. I mean, what happens when a Spectre goes rogue? That level of power… law enforcement wouldn't be able to touch them."

"Indeed. C-Sec investigations into Spectres tend to end poorly, which is why Spectres have to police ourselves. If I went rogue and you were a Spectre, it is quite possible you would be sent after me. It's more or less the only way to do so. The Council can strip Spectre status, but anyone who is chosen as a Spectre is likely to have the skill set to dodge most law enforcement and even most military efforts."

"I'm not sure I'd be able to stomach that. Killing a bunch of innocents, I mean. We're supposed to be soldiers making the galaxy safer, not people making hard decisions that aren't needed," Nihlus paused and gave her a confused look. "Sorry, human phrase. More or less refers to people who are 'strong' because they make extreme decisions for the greater good or whatever, but it usually tends to mean they're just psychopaths who take the extreme route first."

"I see," Nihlus said slowly. "Not all Spectres go to extreme lengths, but we have that length if we need to."

"So, if Saren was behind this attack, it would mean that he could get away with it?"

"Not quite," Nihlus answered as he activated his omni-tool and Ashley's beeped as a new file was sent to it. "Spectres have unofficial limits. Generally, we stop at destroying colonies unless there is a clear and present danger. Wiping one out just to get a prothean beacon or to cover an operation is usually when Spectres start getting their status revoked. Collateral is permitted with minimal grumbling. Wholesale slaughter is not. The file I sent is in regards to Jinora, an asari Spectre who destroyed a whole salarian colony to stop a bioweapon project."

Opening the file, which she found to be a partial excerpt, Ashley's jaw dropped as she saw just how far the asari had gone. "Seriously? She did that?"

"She did," Nihlus answered with what was almost certainly shame. "The initial decision - using firebombs to incinerate the weapons project - that made sense. What did not make sense was deploying them throughout the whole colony and destroying the atmospheric dome protecting the settlement so that everything suffocated or burned to death," Nihlus shook his head. "The project she stopped had to be halted, but even Spectres have limits on how far we may go."

"What happened to her?" Ashley asked as she closed the file as it did not say.

"Killed by three other Spectres on Illium. No one else was capable of the task."

"So basically, the Council is okay with some collateral, a lot more than most militaries, but they draw a line at mass murder on planetary scales."

"Correct, but if there is a clear and critical need to do so, the Council may quietly accept that. However, the Spectre in question often finds themselves brought up anyways as the Council needs to project the image of holding the moral high ground."

Ashley frowned. "Why're you telling me this? I'm not even a Spectre yet, and this is some potentially damaging stuff."

Nihlus chuckled. "Oh, certainly, if the Council stood up in front of the galaxy and said 'We are fine with bombings on civilian targets', they would likely get replaced. But unofficially, amongst political and military circles it is accepted that Spectres have significant leeway. And you, Commander Williams," he pointed at Ashley, "will need to decide just how far you would go if you became a Spectre. What you did on Eden Prime showed that you had the skill to fight and lead. The question I have is, how far would you go to defend Eden Prime - the shining beacon showing that the Alliance could colonize the stars - if you knew a threat was coming? How far would you go to protect Earth, your homeworld?"

She did not know the answer to that. It would be too easy to simply say as much as it took, but seeing the story on the Spectre gone rogue and the potential of Saren doing what he did to actually somehow help the Council made her wonder if she could. "I have to ask… have Spectres ever been hunted down for actions that even the Council privately understands to be needed?"

"They have," Nihlus answered. "A few come back to accept the consequences of their actions. Those are rarely listed amongst the rogue Spectres, though, because they chose to come back. But otherwise, they would rather be in the dark about how much collateral will be required. Plausible deniability."

As Ashley rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably, Nihlus pushed himself off the locker. "Anyone who joins the Spectres needs to recognize that they may need to accept the Council deciding they were wrong, publically at least. But Spectres are heavily vetted; you can count the number of Spectres who had truly gone rogue with only one digit," Nihlus paused before glancing to the elevator. "It's a question you have to wrestle with. For me, the choice was easy."

"Why?" Ashley asked in surprise.

"Unlike yourself, I was a…" he paused for a moment. "Well, during my time in the Armiger Legion I was considered unorthodox. My tactics worked, allowing me to rout whole enemy patrols and stop them from destroying my squad, but they were risky. When Saren offered me the chance to become a Spectre, I took it with both hands because I would not stick to the conventional doctrines. But I did not completely think through of what it entailed," He glanced towards the Mako briefly. "I just wanted the freedom to operate."

"And you don't want me to make the same mistake."

"Neither you nor Shepard. Both of you could go far, but being a Spectre is far less glamorous than the vids suggest, even compensating for the industry's dramatization," he paused a moment with a brief snort before continuing. "You two have other options if you do not become Spectres by choice or just by there being a better candidate from another pair. There is no dishonor in not becoming a Spectre," he added quickly as Ashley raised an eyebrow, "it is an exclusive organization for a reason. But you were chosen as a potential Spectre, which by itself is a testament to your potential even if you never join our ranks. You made a mistake today, but even the best make mistakes. Even Saren has miscalculated before and made mistakes."

"I think I see what you're saying," Ashley answered slowly as she folded her arms and looked down. "I need to mull over it a bit, but… thank you."

"You're welcome," Nihlus said as he checked his omni-tool. "Excuse me, the Council said they would have reports related to Eden Prime and I need to read them over."

"No problem, I think I just need some time."

The turian left and Ashley slid off the table, leaning her head against the locker. Part of her wanted to latch onto what Nihlus was saying, that it was not her fault and she did the best she could with the cards she had, the galaxy just decided this was the day to treat her like a volus. Another part of her still blamed herself. Why did she make Kaidan drop that fuel tank and further trash his biotic abilities? Why did she approach the unknown alien technology like some stupid chick in a horror thriller?

She was still wrestling with the fact when her omni-tool began beeping.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Death. Destruction. Pain. That was all she could feel. Images of torture, echoing, mutilated squealing that sounded like a pig put into a cybernetic grinder as she was forced to watch images that blurred too fast to recognize or comprehend. Was this Hell itself, the home of the damned and Satan? _Oh God, help me!_ She prayed desperately before blacking out.

"_Doctor! Doctor Chakwas! I think she's waking up!"_

_Where am I?_ She wondered as her vision, while still blurry, stopped moving rapidly in a hellish orange and in a more dull blue and grey. Her head was pounding like the thunder of multiple dreadnoughts firing their main cannons, and she was sore all over. Regaining enough vision to see she was on some sort of table, she pushed herself up and looked up as an older woman walked by in a lab outfit and stood in front of her.

"You had us worried there for a moment, 'Sir' Shepard," the woman said warmly though her lip curled after mentioning her title, "How're you feeling?"

Etel Shepard groaned, putting a hand on her forehead, "I feel like the morning after I tried to outdrink my brothers." Not a pleasant memory, nor was the scolding all four of them got afterwards. She glanced around and finally recognized where she was. The _SSV Normandy_, an Alliance vessel. Glancing down, she noticed she was in Alliance fatigues as well. "Uh, how long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours," Doctor Chakwas explained, "Something happened down there with the beacon."

"A beacon?" Shepard asked, her mind still a blur.

"It's my fault," Ashley Williams added, wearing similar Alliance fatigues, "the prothean beacon down on Eden Prime had some sort of security field that I triggered. You had to pull me out of the way, and it targeted you instead."

It was coming back to her now. The mission to Eden Prime. The geth, the unknown aliens. The overstraining of her biotic abilities in the lengthy battles. The device attempting to grab the Lieutenant-Commander. And she remembered the mission: to recover it. "What happened to the beacon?" Etel asked. "Was it recovered after?"

"It blew up," another voice said and Etel turned - and grunting in pain from her neck as she did so - to see Jenkins covered with medical bandages and sitting up on the gurney next to her, with Jacob on another one past him. Sleeping, given he was not hooked up to life support. "Though you'd have to ask the LC for the details."

"Right, you went for the nukes," Etel nodded, very slowly as to avoid hurting her head, and turned back to the doctor and Lieutenant-Commander. "So, the beacon exploded?"

"System overload or something, according to Nihlus," Williams explained. "The blast knocked you cold but apparently did no physical damage. We pulled you onto the ship along with Jenkins and Taylor."

"Why not a local hospital?" She asked with a frown. "Wouldn't that be quicker than bringing me onboard?"

"The _Normandy_ landed at the spaceport - the reason it was so clear was they had made room for us to land to pick up the beacon," Williams explained as she folded her arms and shook her head. "We pulled you onto the ship and well, it was quicker to take you here than a hospital."

"Thank you," Etel said, "I appreciate that," she glanced down at her clothing. "So, why am I in Alliance fatigues?"

"We had to change your clothing once you were on board and your armor had been damaged by enemy fire," Chakwas explained. "We figured it would be polite to not override your locker for an extra set of clothes."

Etel smirked faintly. "Thank you."

"Physically, you're fine, but I detected some unusual brain activity: abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs usually matching intense dreaming," Etel was sure she could see Jenkins about to say something out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't hear him.

Shepard moved herself to try and stand, but leaned on the end of the medical gurney as the images came back. "I don't know what I saw… death, destruction… it's not clear."

"Hmm, I need to put this down on your medical file, but otherwise, I'd say you are fine," Chakwas said, "I will inform the captain and Nihlus that you are awake, they will want to debrief you," she stepped away and began working on her console.

"Must have been one hell of a dream," Williams said, nodding at Etel.

"Yeah..." she said. "So, what happens now?"

"We're heading to the Citadel," Williams explained. "The Council is having an official hearing about the matter. Apparently it's a big enough issue that it'll be held fairly soon after we land. Taylor and Jenkins are going to be undergoing some more procedures at the Citadel as well for their injuries."

"Alright. What about me?" Etel asked, glancing down and noticing that her sword was leaning against the medical gurney she had been put on and grabbed it, strapping it back onto her belt.

"Honestly, I have no idea. If they keep the evaluations going, I'd assume you're sticking with us."

She nodded. "Makes sense. Do you really think this would change the evaluations, though? I mean, if they did not think we could handle danger I doubt we would have been selected."

"At most we'd just get transferred out of the _Normandy_," Williams glanced around and Jenkins looked at her with what seemed like disappointment.

"Well, we go where we're needed I suppose," The door to the medbay opened.

"Captain Anderson, Spectre Kryik," Williams said, saluting the captain.

"At ease," Anderson said as he quickly returned it. "We need to talk, both of you, in private," he glanced to Chakwas who simply nodded towards Taylor. Anderson nodded and gestured for the two to follow and the four walked towards Anderson's quarters as Kaidan was in the mess hall still fiddling with a control panel on the far side.

As they entered Anderson's quarters, he turned to Etel and smirked. "So, how does it feel being in Alliance colors?"

"Well, the size fits," she answered, "though I would like to change into my own gear as soon as I can… where'd you get one that fit me anyways?"

"We keep some spares for the medbay," Williams explained as Anderson locked the door. "Just in case."

"No offense, Captain, but I would like to change into my spare clothes once we're done here."

"None taken. You aren't Alliance, so you don't need to wear the fatigues. But before the fashion show starts, we need to discuss what happened on Eden Prime. Nihlus?"

The turian nodded and activated his omni-tool, displaying a holographic projection of the beacon. "Things look bad. The geth and those strange bug aliens attacking was bad enough, but we lost a prothean beacon. Saren has officially blamed it on you, Commander Williams, and you, Sir Shepard, saying that both of you were careless."

"Jackass," Williams muttered under her breath.

"On that, at least, we agree," Etel said as she grit her teeth and fought down her irritation with the baseless accusation. "Where was Saren, then? He said he had men at the beacon. I didn't see any."

"We did, actually," Ashley answered. "Autopsy of the husks we fought there confirmed that they were Alliance soldiers. Probable cause of death is headshots, but those spikes and the battle damage I caused makes confirming that impossible."

"What'll happen to the bodies?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"They are being kept in a secure facility and being studied by Alliance scientists," Anderson explained, "Or that was what Mikhailovich intended to do. Once we're certain they will stay dead and understand the husks' structure, they plan to pass the bodies on to their next of kin, but that will take time."

"I see," Etel answered, shivering briefly.

"Something wrong?" Nihlus asked.

"Just not a fan of ending up in a lab," she answered as she tried to push away the image of that being her on a lab table, dead and being studied by scientists. It just didn't feel right to her.

"If it's any consolation it's not an idea I'm keen on either," Williams added. "But we need to know what those things are. How it happened. And we need to make sure they don't rise out of their graves again."

She nodded. It would do no good for them to rise again in a civilian area; even one could cause significant damage. "I know. But I had to ask. So. Saren. Has he really gone rogue or...?"

"Not quite," Nihlus explained. "He said he got pinned down by geth while trying to prevent them from maintaining air superiority and that the Alliance troops defending the beacon failed. Overall, he's laying this on the Alliance as a failure to protect its own borders."

"I don't buy that for a second," Williams growled. "If he was so concerned about the beacon, why didn't he do it himself? Obviously he thinks very little of us, so why trust something so important to the people he thinks can't defend their own outhouse? He's gone rogue, he's just trying to hide it."

"We don't know that," Nihlus answered quickly.

"No offense, but I'm with Williams here," Etel folded her arms. "There's just too much that doesn't add up. You saw Saren on Eden Prime, so there's no doubt he was there even if our word means nothing."

"But we didn't see him work with the geth," Nihlus countered. "Just one terrified dockworker's claim."

"Nihlus… I know it's hard to see a friend go off the deep end, but is leaving something critical to someone else Saren's MO?" Anderson asked. "Especially if he thinks little of those in question."

The turian paused, looking down thoughtfully before shaking his head. "This speculation will get us nowhere. I submitted my report, and will stand behind both of you. You did this mission as well as you could and the destruction of the beacon was an unfortunate set of unforeseen of circumstances that could not be prepared for. If anyone is at fault, it's me for not forwarding you the information on the details of beacons."

"Don't blame yourself," Etel said, seeing the turian tendency to blame themselves for a subordinate's failure coming out. "You had to disarm the nukes. If those went off, nothing would have mattered anyways. You were the only one who could do it for certain."

Anderson coughed. "Regardless of where the blame lies, however, we have an unfortunate situation ahead. The beacon was lost, and on an Alliance world. Even with the media spinning your actions as a heroic defense of the colony, we still cannot shake the fact we lost a major prothean artifact. We're setting course to the Citadel. This needs to be investigated and Saren needs to be questioned about this."

"And what about us?" Williams asked, folding her arms. "Are we going to need to talk to the Council?"

"That remains to be seen," Nihlus explained. "But you may be called into question as to why you did certain actions. I'll stand by your commands in the mission, Williams, but you will need to defend them against Saren as he has never been a fan of humans."

"Why?" Etel asked with a frown. "Even before the Alliance, we never offered any trouble to the Council intentionally," she could almost see Nihlus rolling his eyes before Anderson coughed.

"He sees humanity as a group that cannot set aside petty differences. He even told me that he would be happy to see the Alliance and Empire at war with each other so you can 'unify'," before Anderson could say anything, Nihlus added, "And no, I'm not telling this in breach of confidence, he said that he was okay with his views on humanity being known as it is, in his view, the truth."

"So we're going to the Citadel and may need to argue why we weren't incompetent and just dealt bad cards?"

"More or less, Commander," Anderson answered. "Though, Nihlus believes that this is simply going to be a bump in the road rather than stopping either of your candidacies."

"Correct. Spectres are not unknown to failure, but how we act afterwards is what decides how it is looked at. When we land on the Citadel, I will be meeting the Council personally. As I understand it, both ambassadors at the human embassy will want to talk to both of you."

"Ambassador Leonidas has contacted me via Udina and wants the whole ground team from the beacon there," Anderson elaborated. "Jenkins and Taylor, due to their injuries, are going to be transferred to the C-Sec Academy's infirmary once we land for final treatments. Jenkins should be back on board by the time we leave the Citadel, however."

"Is Taylor going to stay aboard?" Williams asked. "He seemed capable."

"No," Anderson said. "He's a good soldier and we could benefit from his talent, but he just lost his whole unit. I would like to take him in, but I was overruled by Mikhailovich," Anderson's lip curled. "Apparently, he thinks Taylor has more use being separate from, quote, 'being stuck under a turian and a knight'."

"A shame," Williams said, "but that's what we have to deal with."

Etel's stomach grumbled as she realized she had not eaten for a long time, nor prayed. "With all due respect, if there is nothing else I should take my leave."

Anderson nodded and unlocked the door. "Go ahead. That's more or less all there is."

Everyone except Anderson left the captain's quarters and Etel headed for her locker, Williams following behind her. She began to pick her clothing from the foot locker she had been assigned, noting that she would need to request a new tabard for her armor. She shifted through her belongings for a while, before hearing a questioning murmur from Williams, who was standing nearby with her arms folded.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"A cloak? Really?" Williams asked back, nodding towards the cloak stowed at the back of the locker.

"Ceremonial, much like the sword," Etel responded as she put her hand on the pommel briefly, "We use them on official events, like knighting a new member. You receive the cloak when you are inducted into the Order, and the sword when knighted."

"I see, I guess that makes sense," Williams nodded, rubbing back of her neck.

"So, where can I change?" Etel asked before pausing and glancing down as she uncomfortable realized how long it had been. "Or clean up."

Williams nodded at the back of the med-bay and two of them headed there, with Williams staying outside while Etel cleaned herself and changed into her non-armor outfit. It was relatively simple, a loose black tunic that reached down to her knees and darkly colored pants to go with it. The heraldry of Hospitallers, a white Maltese cross, was displayed on the chest, and it was all held together by her belt. She stepped out, only meet the stares of the three conscious Alliance members, with Doctor Chakwas taking only a short look before returning to her work with a shrug.

"What?" Etel asked in surprise.

"Nothing," Williams said, shaking her head. Jenkins seemed to be trying to suppress a smirk. Trying being the operative word.

XXXXXXXX

**20 Minutes Later**

While Williams headed downstairs for weapons maintenance, Etel had gone to the mess hall. This time around, the meat had been beef rather than the chicken that was in the last meal she had eaten on the _Normandy_. As Alenko was fiddling with a panel near the food dispensers, she found herself deep in thought as she considered what had happened, making slow progress on her food.

A Spectre who in all likelihood had gone rogue. Strange aliens allying with the geth and attacking Citadel Alliance space. A prothean device that had done… _something_ to her and given her some information she could not comprehend. _Anderson was right,_ she decided as she glanced down at her half-finished food again, _this did get much more complicated._

"Sir Shepard," a voice roused Etel from her thoughts. Turning her head, she saw Lieutenant Alenko approaching her, having given up on doing whatever he had been working on with the panel, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Lieutenant. How can I help you?" she asked.

"I wanted to ask you about something. That trick you pulled, back on Eden Prime," Alenko said, gesturing with his thumb behind him, "What was that?"

"Something my friend back in Hospitallers once theorized. He preferred getting up and close to the enemy to engage in melee. We always joked that he was part krogan," Etel smiled at the memory, before adopting more serious expression. "Or at least until he died."

"I am sorry to hear that," Alenko said, nodding.

"Anyway," Etel said shaking her head and leaving the past, "he always complained that it was so hard to get into the melee. We used to throw him into the fight, on his command of course," she added after seeing Alenko's expression, "So once, he talked that if he had biotics of his own, he could throw himself."

"Hmm..." Alenko hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"He said that just like we had some control over throwing him, what if you would throw yourself?" She shook her head, "We never tried it. Too risky. When you're in the air you're a sitting duck, traveling at a certain speed in a certain direction. If the enemy can anticipate you or has enough time, they can easily shoot you down."

"Or if they have biotic of their own, they can easily counter you," Alenko added. Etel nodded, not having thought of that, "Still, it's something to consider. It certainly caught those aliens off guard."

"True, but if you and Williams had not backed me up, they would have shot me down. It was a stupid plan," she shook her head, trying to remember why she had thought it was a good idea to try it.

"Well, it's only stupid if you fail. If you succeed, it's genius," Alenko said, grinning. Etel shook her head at the comment, unable to resist a smile of her own.

"You're a real joker, aren't you?" She asked.

"Oh no, wait until you meet our pilot. He is the real joker. He's even called Joker."

"Is he a funny person?"

"Depends whenever you consider his jokes funny or not, but he certainly has more than enough of them."

"So, the quality of quantity?"

"More or less."

"_Speaking of jokes,"_ a voice on the intercom cut in, _"What did the knight say after trying to lance a windmill?"_

"Ouch?" Etel offered in confusion as Alenko smirked.

"_Foul giant! I will get thee yet!"_

"She wouldn't get it, Joker," Kaidan shot back, "Jerusalem got yanked in 1192, Don Quixote wasn't for another five hundred years. I'm not even sure that's a line from the book..."

"_Aw…."_

Etel frowned. "Was he spying on us?"

"The pilot has access to several shipboard cameras," Kaidan explained. "Mostly because if he needs to see something wrong elsewhere he can without needing to send someone. It's also good for catching someone screwing up an engine intake," he glanced up with a slight scowl. "And yes, Joker does sometimes use it to interrupt people."

"Shouldn't he be paying attention to flying?"

He shrugged. "Once we're through a relay, the list of things you need to do drops a lot, and he's good enough at multitasking."

Etel nodded before returning to her meal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

"Lieutenant, you got a minute?" Ashley asked as the two were by the stairs to the CIC.

"Sure," Kaidan said as he winced, putting a hand on his head.

"Back on Eden Prime, at the monorail station. What happened there, with your head?"

"Oh, that," Kaidan shook his head. "No big deal. Just the side effects from my L2."

She frowned. "I thought they had a retrofit to fix those problems."

"Yeah, but it's a pretty invasive surgery. Most biotics stick to the implant they got first - the L1's are more or less normal people, never mind a non-combat biotic," he glanced towards the sleeping pods briefly. "Not sure what the Empire uses, but she at least clocks in with an L2."

Ashley frowned as she guessed which 'she' he was referring to. "So our normal biotics are stronger?"

"Nah," Kaidan said as he shook his head. "L3 implants don't put out as much power - that was the cost of removing the side effects. I'm pretty sure her implant's better than mine, if only because the Empire was able to get some off the shelf ones."

"So you get headaches if you use your biotics?"

"Sort of," he rolled his neck briefly. "If I use mild biotics, I don't get too much feedback. If I don't do something major, like just pulling a glass of water a few centimeters or something, no headaches. Combat biotics, yes, those tend to give me headaches but most of the time it's not bad enough to impair me and the adrenaline rush dampens it."

"What if you overuse?"

"Like on Eden Prime? Well, that was more biotic power then I used… well, more than ever before, actually."

"Hang on a minute," Ashley raised an eyebrow as she processed what Kaidan was saying. "You're saying that you used more biotic power on Eden Prime then you used your whole life?"

"At least since BAaT, I… sorta toned down on my usage. That's why I ended up in the Sentinel program instead of the Adept one. The Alliance offered to finish my biotic training, but after what happened in BAaT I declined and went for medicine and tech instead. As I was a biotic I did have to perform some biotic training to be certified for duty, but that was the limit of it."

She nodded as she recalled what she had heard of the Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training program. "I think I understand. Just keep me in the loop about any problems, okay?"

"Don't worry about me," Kaidan added quickly, "I don't need extra time off or anything. It's a side effect, I honestly probably should of held back on my biotics earlier anyways," he grit his teeth. "I would have if I didn't let my emotions get the better of me."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked curiously as she stopped leaning against the wall.

"Remember how I trained as a technician in the Sentinel program rather than going full biotics? It's because, well… I've always held back against living targets since BAaT," he grimaced and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "It's not something I'm proud of."

"You don't need to go back into that if you don't want to."

"It's okay, it's in the past. I dealt with my issues. But I always held back. Then I saw what the geth and aliens did to Eden Prime and I just… I just wanted to rip them limb from limb. I mean, I'm one of the lucky L2s - there are some out there who have to avoid triggering biotics accidently by sneezing to avoid migraines and far worse. I had the power to stop it, relatively mild side effects, and I was _holding back_!" Kaidan deflated with a sigh. "And because I let my anger get the better of me, I couldn't pull you out of the beacon and Shepard had to get hurt. Hell, maybe I'm the one who caused the beacon to actually explode."

"Don't blame yourself, you had no way of knowing and Shepard overwhelmed her amp too in that fight," Ashley said immediately. "You did the best you could."

Kaidan smirked. "Huh. Nihlus talked to you, didn't he?"

"He talked to you?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. More or less said that it was probably his fault. He's taking this hard, though he's not showing it."

Ashley immediately recalled Nihlus' comments about the blame. "Yeah, I noticed that. I didn't expect him to blame himself so much for something he genuinely could not have had an effect on."

"It might be a turian thing. I remember reading something about being promoted past your skillset is more on the promoter then the guy in question when he screws up the new rank," he shrugged. "Not something I'm keen on asking him about, though. But don't worry about me, okay? I'm used to coping with the hand I've been dealt, you have bigger worries. Like the betting pool." He grinned widely like a kid in a candy shop.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Let me guess - time until Shepard and I get into a fight?"

"More or less."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what you bet..." Ashley's omni-tool chirped and she activated it. "Williams here."

"_Hey commander,"_ Joker answered, _"Captain wanted me to pass on a message to tell you and Kaidan to prep the BDUs and pistols for the Citadel."_

"Not dress blues?" Ashley frowned. Dress blues would have been more appropriate for meeting the Council.

"_No dress blues. Something about expecting trouble. Plus, Nihlus is apparently going to be wearing his armor there, some sort of Spectre thing I guess, so I guess you don't want to look totally vulnerable."_

"Least we're not being asked to wear armor and a full weapon kit," Kaidan added. "How long until we get to the Citadel, Joker?"

"_About a day, but I might be able to shave off some time; after all, I fly in style."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Etel finished praying, she heard footsteps behind her and rose, turning to see Nihlus standing there. "Spectre Kryik?"

"You can call me Nihlus; I thought I said I was okay with using my first name," Nihlus answered. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," she answered as she stood. "My head is still a mess, but that's not something I think Doctor Chakwas is going to be able to help with."

The turian nodded. "Some scars can't be healed with medicine. You performed admirably down there, Shepard. No problems following Williams' orders."

She shrugged. "We barely know each other. Though, we have not really talked either. It's…" she paused, trying to search for the right word.

"You two have been tiptoeing around each other," Nihlus supplied. "But I am glad to see you two can work together and interact. It would be a rather long evaluation process without talking."

Etel rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I'll take your word for it. But I'm not sure we're going to become friends. We have some common ground but…"

"... but?"

"But I'm not sure we would really agree. The Alliance is pretty adamant about not becoming part of the Empire and as a noble I represent what they dislike about us. I think the only thing we can really talk about right now is the guns we use and tactics. We don't have a lot of common ground."

Nihlus tilted his head slightly before shrugging. "I think both of you would be surprised. But as long as you two can work together, then we should be fine. Even if both of you end up as Spectres, that does not mean you two will stay together. It's mostly for the evaluation."

"I understand. Keeping it fair, making it so no one can complain about one side getting better teachers, that sort of thing," Etel paused, curling her lip before mustering the courage to ask. "So, how do you and Saren know each other?"

"He's the reason I became a Spectre," Nihlus answered openly, "In my youth, I was part of the Armiger Legion and even by their standards I was an unorthodox operative. My tactics were risky, but worked. My superiors only saw the risk and I was close to being drummed out when Saren found me."

"He took you in as a candidate?"

"It was a mission into the Terminus, a small scale operation that we could only pull off because it was right on the border and our target had already poked C-Space enough to give us justification. An asari warlord had kidnapped several salarian scientists and was having them work on chemical weapons and gene mods so they could deploy them freely without harming their own troops."

"I'm not a scientist, but that sounds damn hard to tailor."

"It is," Nihlus added before continuing. "During the mission, my squad got pinned down and I was cut off from them. I broke the attack pinning my squad down, but I wounded half of them in the process," He seemed to wince in regret. "They understood why I did it, but we started to grow distant and my commanders felt that it was the last failure."

"And Saren saw it?"

"He did. He saw what I did and said that that kind of capability and willingness to risk it was what the Spectres needed and took me in before my superiors could formally dump me from the Armiger Legion."

"He was your mentor into the Spectres?" Etel asked as her suspicions were confirmed. "Like what you're doing for Williams and myself."

Nihlus nodded. "Exactly. Within a year, I underwent my first independent mission. I had to dodge an asari justicar as a result of it, but I managed to pull it off and I was formally inducted shortly afterwards. Saren and I remained in contact. Saren can be extreme, but he does it for the best of Citadel space."

"So… how does that factor in his hate for humans?" She asked as she leaned against an empty sleeping pod.

"It happened around the time the Systems Alliance was discovered. His brother, Desolas, was one of those sent to Shanxi, a general in charge of an investigation to see exactly where what we believed to be an Imperial effort came from. A year later, Desolas was off duty in a bar and a brawl broke out. Humans from the Alliance and the Empire, inflamed by one of the late Emperor Titus' speeches. Desolas tried to break it up but was killed in the ensuing brawl."

"That's terrible," Shepard said. The turian simply nodded in response.

"But that was where the hate really began for Saren. He used to see humans as having a quirk with the Faith of Abraham, sort of like the asari and the whole maiden stage. Then he saw the Systems Alliance and how it turned violent small scale and felt that humans were unable to come to an agreement and killed each other for it."

"So he wants us to essentially undergo something like the Unification War to get that out of our collective culture?" Etel asked in shock.

"More or less," Nihlus admitted, "Or just anything to have you unify into one government, even if it meant the Hierarchy forcing it. He doesn't want humanity exterminated, just made to play nice."

She shook her head. "No offense, but why would he want a war? I mean, the War of Succession ended with one side almost wholly destroyed and there were a lot less noble houses after that ended. So did all our other conflicts." _For God's sake,_ she thought, _the Batarian Crusade was the exception rather than the rule..._

"To Saren, that is an acceptable outcome if it means humans will be united and end this human situation," he paused, before adding, "I personally believe there is more for humanity to contribute from both sides, but I don't blame Saren for believing what he does," he glanced up and ahead and nodded to himself quietly. "We should be arriving at the Citadel soon. If you want to clean up further, this would be a good time to do so."

She nodded. "I'll be ready."

"Good," with that, he walked off and Etel was still there in the row of sleeping pods. A war to unify? She looked around the _Normandy_, wondering what humanity would gain if they followed Saren's idea of making humanity work together. And if that was what was needed, why would God want His children to murder each other in His name? All of God's children were to one day unite and she had always thought that she would die long before that truly happened. Yet the idea of bringing the Alliance in by force did not sit well with her as she eventually made her way to the cockpit to check in on just how long it would take.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**One Day Later**

**Citadel Presidium**

The arrival to the Citadel was rather uneventful, apart from having to wait until they had cleared all the additional security checks by the Citadel Defense Fleet at the station itself. No more geth attacks had been reported and there was no sign of the geth fleet, but as they had been coming directly from the warzone C-Sec decided to be safer rather than sorry. The Council was running their own investigations at the moment, both into Saren and into the attack, but the Citadel was still in a state of peace. Eden Prime and the war brewing from the destruction there was nothing but a distant memory, safe and far from the impenetrable arms of the Citadel itself.

On board the Citadel, they were met by a group of nurses and doctors, who took Jacob and Jenkins with them to a C-Sec operated hospital. Meanwhile, the rest of the team went to the embassy, except Nihlus who had to meet with the Council. The four called an elevator from the C-Sec Academy to get to the Presidium and it slowly trudged up.

"So Shepard," Alenko asked suddenly, jolting Etel out of her drifting thoughts. "I'm kinda curious on something; all the history textbooks on theocracies back on Earth said that they more or less had women stay in the kitchen. I didn't expect to see a Spectre candidate from the Empire to be a woman."

Etel frowned, looking at him. "Why, Earth can't have something against women in the military - look at Commander Williams."

"To be fair that wasn't really ironed out until the 21st century," Williams added. "But even the theocracies then had the issue."

"Well, for the Empire at least, it happened in the War of Succession. Big civil war before we got off Nod - we were still being slowly uplifted to the modern tech level. To put a long story short, it was a war over which twin was the next emperor and the Empire was fairly evenly split, so the war stalemated."

"How did it end?" Williams asked.

"Women joining the field, actually. A bunch of them rallied around Saint Ilham, and they managed to win a couple critical battles that turned the tide. The Order of the Silken Blade was formed out of those volunteers after the war, though they were also the only militarized force that women could serve in for a while until the majority of the military came to terms with it."

"I guess it'd be hard to say women can't do anything after they pull that off," Alenko said with a shrug before Anderson gestured for them to be quiet in the slow elevator and he turned up the installed radio.

"_In other news, the son of the recently deceased Prince Abdul-Rahman, Crown Prince Fredrick, released a statement earlier today. Our camera crews recorded it at the interview."_

Etel glanced worriedly towards the three Alliance members with her as the recording played. _"The Alliance's failure to defend their own borders is a clear sign that they deviate from what God intended - a unified humanity under the Star Empire. If the Alliance cannot swallow its own pride and accept this, then it will find itself torn apart by the threats of the galaxy. Eden Prime was a great tragedy, but one that could have been prevented…"_

Williams shut it off in disgust as Alenko shook his head. "Sorry about that," Etel said, wincing. "Crown Prince Fredrick tends to run off with his mouth somewhat. It's mostly youth talking there," the blank looks she received told her that they doubted that as the elevator finally came to a stop and they walked up the ramp to the Citadel Embassy suite, entering the one with the sign reading _Human Embassy_.

The embassy was of a size that would normally be considered large, but it was currently being divided between two ambassadors. One could easily see the division, by the way the desks were arranged on either side of the room, alongside banners from either state, arrayed opposite of each other like the hosts of two kings staring each other down before an inevitable battle.

"Ambassador Udina," Anderson said as they entered, nodding at the Alliance ambassador.

"Ambassador Leonidas," Etel said, nodding at her ambassador, who nodded back.

"You are all here. Good," Udina answered, standing and walking forward. "The hearing will be in few hours, but I want you to know what is to be expected. I don't want any political mistakes to be made. Saren is trying to spin this into incompetence and failure on your part. If not for Nihlus backing you up, this would be over already."

"Saren is lying," Williams said instantly, earning a nod from Alenko.

"Perhaps, but until we got solid evidence that he was behind the attack or that he screwed up, that doesn't mean anything," Udina countered harshly. "Now, Saren will be trying to goad you into saying something stupid. No matter what he says, only respond to questions presented by the Council. Ignore Saren."

"Has C-Sec come up with anything yet?" Anderson asked, stepping forward.

"Nothing and whether or not the investigations are continued depends on this hearing," Leonidas said from the other end of the room, earning a glare from Udina.

"This is not a matter that concerns the Empire, so I would appreciate that you keep to yourself," Udina said.

"A member of the Empire was on site and got hurt. I say this matter concerns the Empire very much," Leonidas countered, leaning forward from his desk. "Sir Shepard, I hope you have received the best treatment and available medical care during your stay on the _Normandy?_"

"Yes, ambassador," Etel answered, "Captain Anderson and the crew of the _Normandy_ has been most hospitable and any lingering problems will not be because of poor treatment."

"Good, good. That is good to hear," Udina was glaring at the Imperial ambassador as Leonidas continued on. "Now, as to the matter itself, it should be relatively simple. Avoid taking any bait that Saren gives and show that you were acting with honor. Let them see the strength that God gave humanity and that Saren is simply slandering the extent of your skills."

"I will instruct the members of my state how to conduct themselves," Udina shot back with a growl. "I do not need you looking over my shoulder. The Alliance is not some child, no matter how new we are to the galactic stage. We have dealt with politics before."

"I take it that the two of you don't get along?" Etel asked with a frown.

"Political differences," Leonidas said with a shrug. "But do remember, you are a junior here Udina, and this is still technically the Empire's embassy."

"Yes, you are keen on reminding me of that," Udina answered with enough venom to kill a krogan.

"Can we get back on topic?" Williams cut in. "So we're expected to show up in a few hours to talk to the Council?"

"Yes," Udina answered. "Nihlus forwarded me-"

"_Us._"

Udina continued past the interruption, "forwarded me an information packet in regards to this. He will be arguing with the Council for a while and providing testimony, as well as reviewing the investigations so far. In the meanwhile, you are free to move around but keep your omni-tools ready to receive in case you are needed early. Anderson, I want you to stay here. I need to talk to you," he turned his head towards Williams and Etel. "The rest of you I'll meet at the Citadel Tower - Nihlus has given you two clearance." he turned to Alenko. "And you, Lieutenant, are expected to stay with them. You were on the team that was at the beacon."

"Yes sir," he answered with a shrug in his Alliance battle dress uniform.

"Also, Anderson… battle dress?"

"Nihlus suggested it," Anderson explained. "Otherwise I would let them wear what they felt worked best."

"I see. Very well then, you three are dismissed. Follow me, Anderson," the two walked away as Leonidas stood.

"Sir Shepard, I don't suppose you could do me a quick favor?"

"Certainly, Ambassador. What is it?"

The ambassador held out a data slate and she took it. "It's the latest financing reports in regards to our dealings with Elkoss Combine and the Vol Protectorate. I promised Ambassador Korlack to have it ready in a few hours but I got it done early."

"I'm guessing the embassy is fairly far?" Williams asked.

"No, it's next door, but I need to go through the intelligence in regards to this situation as well as other matters, and you are headed out anyways."

"I'll bring it over," Etel answered as she took the slate.

"Thank you," He nodded and returned to his desk as the three walked out and took a right. Entering the embassy, they saw a volus and an elcor talking about something.

"Ambassador Korlack?" Etel asked, with the volus turning around.

"_*hiss*_ Well, look at that. _*hiss*_ Nod-clan and Earth-clan, all in peace. _*hiss*_ Not a sign you expect to see, especially with your ambassadors acting like they do. _*hiss* _How can I help you?" The volus asked, turning around. His rebreather hissed as he spoke.

"I got the reports from Ambassador Leonidas, regarding the recent deals with the Volus Protectorate and Elkoss Combine," Shepard said, giving the volus the datapad.

"_*hiss* _Oh, good. _*hiss*_ I didn't expect them to be ready yet," Korlack said, taking the datapad and nodding at Williams and Alenko. "_*hiss*_ With all this ruckus you Earth-clan are causing."

"Not a fan of humans?" Williams asked as she folded her arms.

"_*hiss*_ We volus have been here much longer than you humans. _*hiss*_ And now, thanks to you Earth-clan raising a fuss, _*hiss*_ it's more likely that you will gain a Council seat just to get you to agree on something."

"That's silly," Etel countered, "we are nowhere near getting a Council seat. Having our people even agree to a shared embassy was a major fight for the Council, and a lot of compromises."

"Should have seen the attack ads that were running during the election cycle after the joint embassy was announced," Alenko chimed in. "It really was a hard swallow."

"_*hiss*_ Of course. _*hiss*_ Yet, we volus do not even get our own embassy. _*hiss*_ We have to share ours with the elcor."

"That... is kinda weird, actually," Williams said with a confused look. "You'd think that the people who created and more or less run the galactic economy would have more power."

"_*hiss*_ The Council only values military power. _*hiss*_ They don't care about your other skills."

"Chastisingly: You do not mean that, Din. The asari do not have much of a military either," the elcor spoke up. Williams and Alenko looked at him strangely briefly before glancing at each other and shrugging.

"Have you not heard of the asari commandos, _*hiss*_ Calyn, _*hiss* _who in the words of the turians are the finest _*hiss* _warriors in the galaxy?"

"Disappointedly: Yes, I have. And you of all people should be aware the asari are better known as diplomats and dancers than for their martial power."

"I doubt the Council would want a divided species like ours amongst them. Especially since that is guaranteed to cause even more of a headache for everyone," Etel chimed in. "But let's say if we do, well… we'd owe a lot of it to you and your people. The Empire's military would nearly be as strong as it is without the Vol Protectorate's help."

"_*hiss*_ Are you mocking me?" Korlack demanded angrily, "_*hiss*_ I do not need your patronization!" He inhaled deeply.

"Apologetically:" Ambassador Calyn cut in, "My friend is somewhat sensitive to this issue. Please forgive him for his rudeness."

"It's okay," Alenko said, "I don't blame him for being annoyed about it, but this honestly isn't our fault."

"Bah," Korlack said in annoyance. "Blame who you wish,_*hiss*_ I know who is at fault. Now then, I should deal with this matter. At least in regards to finances, _*hiss* _your Empire plays it straight." He walked off to his desk on the far side of the embassy.

"Sympathetically: My apologies for his attitude."

"It's okay, Ambassador," Etel answered, "I just didn't expect that much venom."

"Uh, sorry to be rude, Ambassador, but I've never met elcor before," Williams chimed in. "I think my translator might be a glitching, it keeps prefacing what you're saying with an emotion."

Etel stared agape at Williams before the ambassador… chuckled? Or what she had to assume was the elcor equivalent.

"Amusedly: No offense is taken. It is simply an effect of our language. Conversationally: The elcor use pheromones in our communication. As no other species has the ability to perceive them, translators preface our words with the emotion given off by the pheromones. The hanar have a similar situation with their bioluminescence, but the strength of it permits them to not require prefacing."

"Makes sense," Alenko said with a nod. "Can't expect every species to have the same general method."

"Well, we did what we came for," Etel said, "So how about something else? There is a good bar nearby. They have an excellent taste in food and always make sure to stock for every species - and nation."

"Sounds good to me," Williams said, with Alenko nodding.

"Ambassadors," Etel said, nodding at two. Calyn nodded back, while Korlack merely waved his hand as the group exited.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**One Hour Later**

"Is that a Mass Relay?" Kaidan asked in surprise as they neared the Citadel Tower.

"That's the Relay Monument," Shepard explained as the three walked up to the fence near it. "It's a piece of prothean artwork the asari found when they first found the Citadel."

"You know," Ashley said as she looked at the monument, "Art doesn't normally do much to me… but the relay statue? I like it."

"Anyone hear a low hum?" Kaidan asked. "Is that just me? It's kinda making my teeth tingle."

"Huh?" Ashley asked, frowning at him. "What do you mean?"

"A low hum, like it's coming from the statue."

"Weird," Shepard said as she curled her lip, "I don't feel it either."

_Not biotics then,_ Ashley decided. "L2 side effect?"

"Maybe. But that usually only happens when we do a relay jump or if I'm using a lot of biotics, not just standing around. If it's okay, I'm going to take a couple steps back; see if it goes away."

"Go ahead," Ashley said with a nod.

Kaidan walked away as Ashley and Shepard were standing there awkwardly looking around the Presidium before Shepard finally broke the silence. "Korlack was being rude about it, but he is right." Shepard said as the two leaned against the railing, looking over at the Relay Monument.

"Oh?" Ashley asked in surprise. "How?"

"This 'Human Situation' is in part our fault because we won't unify or even put up some sort of front together," Shepard put her hands up as Ashley glared at her. "Now hear me out. Korlack was wrong in that it was all our fault - a lot of that lies in the batarians for their slaving run in the first place - but what did we do at the first contact?"

"The Empire wanted to assimilate the Alliance at the drop of a hat and expected us to kowtow," Ashley answered, "and the Alliance more or less said 'Um, excuse me?' and said no."

"That's… harsher than I would put it. Emperor Baldwin is quite open to joint representation."

"Sorry Shepard, but we've only seen two Emperors and the last one was only held back from military force because the turians were sitting there waiting to beat up the aggressor. And that next-in-the-line, Fredrick? You've heard his statements. Sure, it might be youth talking, but he is your next Emperor."

She frowned. "Why are you so resistant to unifying? I mean, we're all children of God - even those who do not believe in Him and have yet to see the light. Is it wrong to set full unity into motion?"

"Can you really expect a civilization to be going about its life and expanding, then suddenly running into something from its past that expects them to fall in line right off the bat?" Ashley shot back. "That's more or less what happened with Shanxi and the first diplomatic meetings."

"You joined the Citadel Alliance quickly enough."

"The Citadel wasn't asking us to more or less reject all our governments and kneel before them. They were the reasonable ones. Emperor Titus? Not so much."

"Okay, so he expected too much too soon, but would you really object to an eventual unification with the Empire?"

"Personally? I probably could adjust," Ashley admitted as she briefly considered the prospect, "but that's because I've got the background to make the adjustment. What about other people? I'm relatively sure that the Empire doesn't approve of same-sex relationships."

"Do you?" Shepard asked.

Ashley paused, considering how to put it before shrugging. "Not my thing personally. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to pick on them because of it."

"We signed the Citadel Conventions - those rights are legally protected."

"But what about culturally?" Ashley asked, pressing her advantage. "The Empire takes their faith and runs with it. How can you expect every other subculture and faith, every piece of humanity that grew on Earth, to just drop it and kneel to a mere part of it that was yanked out a thousand years ago?"

"Not immediately," Shepard answered as she gripped the railing tightly and looked at the Relay Monument. "It's not my place to question, but if unification is going to happen, it needs to happen in steps."

"Honestly, unification shouldn't happen at all," Ashley answered. "The systems of government are too incompatible."

"And the ones back on Earth are?"

"Okay, yeah, we had some trouble integrating some nations into the Alliance parliament, but that's because we built it as an alliance and adapted it. It's…" she paused as she was trying to figure out how to put it. "The Systems Alliance was a rush job, but it was always built as a joint effort because it's hard to colonize the stars without a single power overviewing it. And well, it's a good face."

"But that is more or less what Emperor Baldwin wants: a confederation, a union of the Alliance and Empire with us sharing representation."

"No offense, but while the current Emperor is a good man and I respect him, I'm not sure about the rest of the Empire. I mean, commoners under nobles? A feudal chain of command?" Ashley shook her head. "Wouldn't fly with the Alliance. And neither would the whole state religion deal."

"What're you saying? It's sounding like you're against there being a major faith."

"Hey, if people want to believe, they can believe, but state religion just ends badly when you run up against the diversity of the galaxy."

"Says the woman talking to a member of such a state, which has coexisted in the stars for four and a half centuries," Shepard leaned against the railing and tilted her head towards her.

Ashley raised an eyebrow as she turned to her counterpart. "Come on, don't tell me that the Empire wasn't prodded by the Council to be more acceptable to them. Four centuries in the stars? So, for six centuries you've been getting slowly poked at."

"If you're saying the asari were socially engineering us, don't. They're as much of a democracy as you can get," Shepard scowled at her briefly.

"Yeah, and you're still an absolute monarchy that thinks blood means more than leadership."

"And you don't think bloodline matters?"

"Not in regards to rulership. That needs to be earned. What would happen if Fredrick took power? You heard his statement," Ashley could already imagine the diplomatic problems it would entail.

Shepard shook her head and visibly mulled it over for a few moments. "But democracy… what was that quote Kaidan said? That it was the worst form of government?"

"But better than everything else we tried."

"It's just… I can see the asari doing it, they have the long life to afford that kind of discussion, but how do we make it work?" Shepard scratched the back of her neck.

"Come on, you really think the asari were born into the world a democracy from the start?" Ashley rolled her eyes at the idea.

"No, but they can afford to spend a month or two debating parts of an issue at length. We only hit a tenth of their lifespan, maybe two tenths if we're extremely fortunate," Shepard shook her head. "I mean, with democracy you never know who's going to be ruling next."

"But at least the people get to have a say in who their leaders are."

"And your politicians spent more time worrying about reelection than doing their jobs," Shepard shook her head. "Look, I can get the theory behind it. Don't agree, but I understand it. But… if you're always worried about reelection, how do your politicians make the unpopular choices that are needed for the nation to live?"

"That's more of a problem with the people then the system of government. But how else do you get the will of the people in?" Ashley glanced behind her up towards the Council tower behind them.

"Do the politicians of the Alliance really serve the people, though?" Shepard asked. "I mean, look at Udina."

"Yeah, he's a bit of a jackass," Ashley admitted with a shrug, "I won't hide that."

"But he makes my point. People like him are more concerned with themselves, and they're the ones in power. Democracy seems less about the will of the people and more about who's the best varren herder. Whoever's able to sway the most minds gets the post even if they aren't really serving the people. I don't see how that represents the will of the people."

"Oh come on," Ashley exclaimed in annoyance as she gripped the railing tightly, "even the Turian Hierarchy factors in what they want - they're allowed to complain up the chain. They might still follow orders, but it's not like they're not allowed to complain. I don't really see how that works with a bloodline based hierarchy. All I see is people who were born with silver spoons getting the throne and people below who are far better suited just have to deal with it."

"Commoners in the Empire are allowed to bring up their grievances," Shepard shot back immediately as her expression hardened, "they aren't slaves or anything like that. They can talk to the Imperial Administration if they're being abused."

"And how often do the nobles in question actually get slapped down?" Ashley countered immediately. "I remember that nobles rarely got in trouble for what they did to their peasants in the old days. It wasn't a peasant's place to question, just do."

"Because that's the order of the world. Every man has his place, and it's their duty to-"

"Oh come on, there's self-serving nobles in the Star Empire. Don't tell me that there aren't any," Ashley interrupted as she rolled her eyes. She knew what power did to people. And being born with the power rather than having to earn it?

Shepard paused as she scowled. "Yes, but that's what the Imperial Administration is for. To ensure that the nobles who abuse their power are caught and properly investigated. There's an order to the world, Williams. We all know our place. Commoners, aristocrats, nobles… everyone."

"You know who else used the arguments about knowing their place? The guys who thought women should stay in the kitchen."

"How is that related?" Shepard asked in surprise.

"I'm just pointing out that 'that's the way things are' is not a very good argument," Ashley answered with an innocent shrug. "You won't convince many people that the Systems Alliance should merge into the Empire with that."

"And how long did it take the Alliance's nations to figure out women's rights, for example?" Shepard shot back, leaning forward and pressing her attack. "All it took for our side was for the Emperor to declare it and it was done. No beating around the bush, no extended arguments, it was there and done."

Ashley paused, taken aback as she realized that she really had walked right into that one. _Okay Shepard, point for you..._

"There, you see? People rarely know what they want. By the time your Parliament stops arguing and agrees to disagree, the Empire has already moved on. We do not get bogged down in pointless arguments," Shepard jumped in on the momentary silence.

"And how long it takes for Empire to actually realize it needs to change?" Ashley retorted as she realized she had lost ground. _Don't lose this battle,_ she thought as she desperately grabbed onto whatever line of thought would help. "The Alliance can recognize what works and what doesn't much sooner because people _will_ complain. We're not limited to single point of view from the current noble in charge, we've got people constantly working on things. We work on issues constantly, rather than wait for someone to come along and fix them!"

"Oh, right, just like you have been 'f_ixing_'", Shepard made air quotes, "the Human Situation or reparations to L2 biotics by spending more time arguing over the most pointless things," Shepard shot back.

"Those 'pointless' arguments are there to prevent future arguments. Just smashing our two governments together, forcing other to bend the knee is just bound to cause more trouble in the future," Ashley countered.

"Since when have I been using that argument - I said that I'm in favor of Emperor Baldwin's plan of joint representation!"

"And I would be fine with an alliance or some sort of agreement to handle that," Ashley responded, "but our governments should stay separate. They're just too incompatible, full social mobility against distinct tiers. It'd be like trying to fit our society into the Turian Hierarchy - who ends up where? Who decides who is a commoner and who's a noble?"

"Deciding that would be part of the process of integrating governments, if that course occurred."

"But it's basically picking people based on potentially non-related traits. You thought I was some sort of noble or equivalent because of my grandfather being a general. That's a position he earned by skill, not because of his bloodline."

Shepard raised her eyebrow, giving Ashley a quizzical look. "And you think the Empire would not take skill into account?"

"Oh I'm sure it would, but the skill of a parent does not mean that the kids are automatically going to be able to do the same things. Just because the parents are farmers doesn't mean that their kid is going to have a masterful skill for farming," she pushed herself off the railing and turned to face Shepard fully. "And then you have to consider how people are going to react to that. I mean, the Empire deciding who's a commoner and who's a noble either means completely putting the Alliance under the Empire since we don't _have_ a nobility system, or you end up picking whoever's up top right now and hope for the best."

"And the Alliance's system doesn't already do that - the children of those up top have a better shot at staying there than those below?" Shepard turned to face her, releasing her grip on the railing.

"I'm not saying that full social mobility means everyone gets to exactly where they deserve to go, but it's a much better measuring stick then who gave birth to who."

"There is mobility in the Empire, though. Aristocrats are usually drawn from commoners who do exactly what you said: showing that they earned the rank, and aristocratic titles don't pass down. If I had a son, he wouldn't automatically be a knight. A noble, maybe, but he would have to earn a knightly title."

"Great, but that still leaves a lot of people sitting in the low ranks," Ashley folded her arms. "And if the Empire just came in and said, 'You, you're a noble and you, you're a commoner'," she pointed with right hand randomly as she made her case, "do you really think people would sit by and accept that, just being classified into a system completely foreign to them with some being elevated and others being left to languish?"

"Do you really think that the terms wouldn't include a solution to try and avoid that?"

"No, but you can bet that people are going to see it like that. Especially if it involves force or being chosen just by the Emperor."

"Why do you think that we would use force? Just because theocracies on Earth used force, which we had nothing to do with…" Shepard clenched her hand into a fist.

"No, this isn't attributing things the Empire had nothing to do with. Titus was the one to 'welcome' the Alliance, he set the tone, a tone of the Empire wanting to absorb the Alliance. And he set a tone that made any sort of unification in the sense the Empire wants impossible," Ashley shook her head as someone walked up to them, an asari of surprising beauty and with the regal grace that felt straight out of heroic fantasy.

"Your differences are what makes you who you are, but the potential that you could achieve will only be seen if you can work together," the asari said, staring between the two of them as she spoke with a calm strength. "Alone, both of you and your nations could achieve great things for the galaxy. But to do something even greater, even more lasting, you have to cast aside your differences and work together. Become one state, perhaps, or perhaps not. But strong will bolstered by faith paired with the sheer determination and ambition of newcomers can change the galaxy… if you can learn to work together."

Ashley and Shepard were both staring dumbfounded as the asari walked off to the other side of the Presidium and a familiar turian walked up to them. They slowly turned to see who it was.

"Who was that?" Ashley asked in confusion as she felt her gut clench up in fear as she saw Nihlus standing in front of them with Kaidan on his flank carrying a black object.

"That," Nihlus explained, "was Sha'ira, better known as the Consort."

"Um, how long were you watching?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"From the start," Nihlus answered. "I had Lieutenant Alenko grab the formal parts of your attire," he nodded and Kaidan passed the cloak to Shepard. "I would think about what Sha'ira said, though. Most people only look at the physical gifts she can provide… but her real gift is a gift of words," he glanced across the Presidium towards an area that was opposite of the embassies. "A gift of words is perhaps the most valuable thing she can give."

Ashley and Shepard looked at each other awkwardly as Shepard slipped the cloak on. The small crowd that was watching them dispersed quickly with the show over and not a C-Sec officer in sight.

"Come along," Nihlus ordered, "the Council is waiting for you and the sooner this is done, the better."

XXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Authors' Notes:**_ While the story of Mass Effect is used, the argument that ended this chapter is probably a clear example of what is going to end up being the meat of the story. This is what we really wanted, the culture clash between the Alliance and Empire and how the Alliance and the people who make it react to that. Another major part of it is how the galaxy changed - as you may have noticed, neither the Alliance or Empire are close to a Council seat and the Alliance's struggle is different than it had in the original timeline. So, while certainly we are following the story of the original, it is not simply a rehash of the game most of us here have played._

_The argument between Ashley and Shepard, highlighting the cultural clash, was probably one of the hardest parts to write, as it was a fine line between a heated debate and the two being completely hostile to each other. But while the hardest, it was also one of the most satisfying parts once completed, in great part thanks to Teen Spirit for quality checking it._

_As always, Codex Entries for those who want to read them. These in particular are mostly focused on the social structure of the Empire, given their importance in the argument ending this chapter._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Social Contracts - Nobles**

Nobles are the people who have the main power in the Star Empire, almost always born into the position. There are three recognized Noble positions: Archdukes, who rule a star system. Dukes, who rule a planet. And finally Barons, who control sectors on the planet. Each Noble is a member of a Noble House, a collection of noble relatives.

Nobles own the lands given to them by the Emperor and most Nobles hold at least one of the "lower" ranks, usually their capital fief. However, Nobles are not allowed to hold multiple same tier titles or have fiefs beyond their highest title. This is to prevent facturing the lands into a complicated patchwork of loyalties as was seen on Earth before their abduction. An Archduke is not allowed to have Duke or Baron tier titles in other star systems, only in the star system he is granted. Nor is a Duke or Baron allowed to hold titles outside their superior's realm, with exceptions granted by the Imperial Administration.

The nobility is stressed in the Faith of Abraham as having a responsibility to their lessers, _Noblesse Oblige_, which is the basis for much of the Empire's social contract. This concept, translating into 'Nobility Obliges', stresses that while the nobility are born into a higher social status and thus have more luxury, it is also their responsibility to go beyond mere entitlement and enter the social world as a leader and care for their lessers by using their higher social status to learn the needed knowledge to guide the masses.

**Codex: Social Contracts - Aristocrats**

Beneath the nobility of the Star Empire lie Aristocrats. Aristocrats are an assortment of "lesser" nobles, who do not belong to any particular House and whose titles can not be passed down. These are Knights, Mayors, Patricians, Clerics and assortment of other titles. These are titles anyone can earn, as long as they are a citizen of the Star Empire. As such, a commoner who starts a business and gains great achievements might be granted a title of Patrician. While his title will not automatically pass to his successor, if his successor continues the good work it is likely that he too will be granted the title of Patrician, creating a semi-inheritance.

Aristocrats are usually considered the highest that a commoner can achieve on his or her own, as actually earning a noble title is a difficult process and requires great deeds that few can achieve. As such, while theoretically a commoner can become an aristocrat and then earn a noble title, such is the exception rather than the rule.

**Codex: Social Contracts - Commoners**

Commoners are the last tier and make up the majority of the Star Empire. Technically, everyone outside the Star Empire are held as Commoners, but in practice people are treated as either Commoners or Aristocrats depending their position. Although on the surface they appear to be lowly held by galactic standards, Commoners are not mere tools for the nobility as they effectively were on Earth as a result of the Faith of Abraham emphasizing a strong, socially tiered structure where all know their place as well as _noblesse oblige_, the concept of nobles being responsible for their lessers.

However, although Commoners do not hold as much power as Nobles or Aristocrats, they are protected by Social Contracts formed between them and their superiors. In cases of misconduct committed by their superiors, Commoners can bring their grievances to the Imperial Administration, one of the few organizations where Commoners held equal power to Nobles. While many Commoners are willing to take a certain level of punishment or additional hardship for the greater glory of the Star Empire, they also are willing to make their feelings known as unlike their forefathers from Earth, their voices will be heard. As such, abuse of them usually becomes known to the Administration.

**Codex: Social Contracts - Imperial Administration**

Thanks to near instantaneous communication, Commoners can quickly bring their grievances to the Imperial Administration, a houseless organization which answers only to the Emperor, which oversees the matter of grievances and consists of both commoners and nobles, making it a relatively unbiased legal and investigative arm for the Empire. It is also responsible for historical record within the Empire, though there has been discussion of creating an alternative organization to uphold this task in order to permit the Administration to focus on the matter of upholding the law and contracts.

When a grievance is reported, the Imperial Administration will investigate the claim and take necessary actions based on their investigations, ranging from verbal warning to the Noble and reparations to offended party all the way to stripping the Noble of his position. Imperial Administration officers also deal with cases when inheritance causes a Noble to claim lands beyond their assigned fief. In these cases, Administration can grant temporal rule of the lands - a stewardship - and split the lands later between successors or in extreme cases strip the Noble House of the claim and return the lands to the Emperor directly, who will grant the lands to someone new. However, most of the time they prefer temporal rule and stewardship until a successor is chosen - often younger children in noble houses who otherwise may not have had a fief - as a way of being polite and not disregarding a Noble House's efforts.

The Imperial Administration is also responsible for overseeing the Star Empire's fleet, ensuring that this critical organization remains houseless and in the command of the emperor. While there are those who dislike these political officers, the Administration is relatively hands off most of the time and their representatives on fleet vessels are trained in performing various tasks on board a ship beyond simply ensuring the politics are straight and narrow. While disliked by some, they are respected within the fleet for at least trying to pull their own weight.


	5. Priority: The Citadel

As the two Alliance Marines, a Knight Hospitaller, and a turian Spectre walked out of the elevator, they could hear an argument at the top of the stairs ahead.

"I got data that could prove Saren's guilt - it got intercepted, I just need enough time to recover it! Stall them so I can get a squad, march into the Wards, and take it back!" a turian was arguing loudly ahead at the top of the stairs.

"_Stall the Council_?!" another turian shot back in shock, "Don't be ridiculous. You're going to have to wait for a warrant like any good C-Sec officer would. I won't say this again, Vakarian," the second turian, wearing a uniform with enough dress to clue them in that he was high ranking, walked away as the group climbed the stairs, leaving the first one standing there. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around, "And if I hear of you taking this into your own hands, your career in C-Sec is over! This is your last warning."

Ashley had always distrusted turians, but she had never seen one frustrated before. This turian had blue face paint, unlike Nihlus who had a stark white pattern on his face that contrasted with his darker carapace. The turian C-Sec officer turned to the group and folded his arms, a sniper rifle poking out from his back holster. "Sir Shepard, Commander Williams, Spectre Kryik, Lieutenant... Alenko," he said addressing the group. "I'm Garrus Vakarian, I was the C-Sec officer in charge of the investigation into Saren."

"I take it C-Sec is sitting on the red tape again," Nihlus said, folding his arms and glaring in the direction the other turian had walked away in.

"Yes, but I don't understand why. I had a solid lead - we were getting a data packet that contained information the Council had to see, but someone intercepted it once our tip VI flagged it. I just need enough time to go down there and recover it! It's not like I'm trying to knock a C-Sec officer off - it's a Spectre! Why is the Executor so hostile about it?"

The three humans looked at each other in confusion as Nihlus answered. "Executor Pallin has always stuck by the rules. He has never been one to skip them, what was that thing he said... Rules are there to protect people, to ensure due process?"

"I don't know, but how am I supposed to do my job if I have to wait weeks to get someone who has no idea of the situation to stamp a hardcopy?" Vakarian answered before glancing behind him. "Hopefully the Council will listen to you. Good luck in there."

"Thanks," Ashley said as they moved on, unable to shake the feeling that the stairs were for more than show, as she could see good firing positions if the place was attacked. Anderson was waiting for them as they reached the last set of stairs that lead to the actual meeting chamber.

"Come on, the hearing is just about to begin," Anderson said, leading the group up the stairs. Three Councilors and a hologram of Saren were waiting for them, while Udina stood on the central platform. All of the raised platforms had railings, fortunately, though Ashley was curious how durable the glass over the room below the Council was.

"I see the ground team has arrived just on time. Very good," Tevos said, nodding at the other Councilors. "This hearing, regarding the Systems Alliance's accusation of Spectre Saren Arterius is hereby officially in process. Ambassador Udina, please present your case."

"Thank you, Councilor," Udina said, nodding to the Council. "Two days ago, the colony of Eden Prime was attacked by the geth and an alien race we have now identified as the 'Collectors', a term given by the people of the Terminus Systems. Spectre Arterius was seen on site, during the attack, despite his official reports claiming that he was carrying out a mission elsewhere. Furthermore, his name does not appear on any report of arrivals."

"_When you are working undercover, you generally do not openly declare yourself a Spectre," _Saren cut in. _"I followed a lead, which required me to remain unknown."_

"Please wait until the ambassador has made his case," Tevos said, raising her hand while looking at Saren. She returned her gaze back to Udina and nodded.

"Numerous discrepancies with his claims have been uncovered by our investigations and furthermore, we have a testimony of him collaborating with the invaders," Udina continued. He stopped for a moment before making his final statement. "As such, the Systems Alliance seeks justice to be carried out and Spectre Arterius to be stripped of his rank and handed to the Alliance for a trial."

"Thank you, Ambassador," Sparatus said, "Spectre Saren, what do you plead?"

"_These accusations are unfounded, merely an attempt to cover up the incompetence of the Alliance and their inability to defend their own colonies!"_ Saren countered immediately, _"During the assault, I assisted Alliance troops in securing the beacon, before heading to the dig site where I met Nihlus."_

"Spectre Kryik, can you confirm this?" Councilor Sparatus asked, turning to Nihlus, who nodded.

"Yes. Spectre Arterius said he had come to help the archaeologists as well as claimed to be have people guarding the beacon," Nihlus said, "However, I do not believe that the beacon was lost due to incompetence. I have submitted my reports and my comments on the mission."

"You did note that several mistakes were done during the mission, Spectre Kryik. How do you explain them?" Councilor Valern asked, though he seemed to be more going through the motions rather than being accusatory.

"We all have the benefit of hindsight. For example, the team -or any of the Alliance Marines - could not have anticipated that the geth were deploying new weapons, such as the creatures we have codenamed husks. Furthermore, these... Collectors, posed an unknown threat. To her credit, Commander Williams carried out her duties despite these challenges."

"_And yet she lost the beacon. By her own admission she triggered it."_

Ashley bit her tongue to avoid letting the turian have it and Nihlus responded. "If anyone is to blame for that, it's me for not dealing with the nukes and geth defenders fast enough-"

"Spectre Kryik," Ashley cut in, "you had to disable the nukes or none of us would even be standing here talking about it."

He turned and looked at her in surprise before shaking his head. "Correct, but I still should have forwarded you relevant information or warning signs before we parted ways."

"As you said, Spectre Kryik," Councilor Valern cut in as he folded his arms, "we have the benefit of hindsight."

"_And why was Williams in charge anyways?"_ Saren asked, _"Surely, Nihlus, you knew better than that."_

"That was my suggestion," Anderson cut in. "The intent was to provide less diplomatic incident material."

"And I approved the suggestion," Nihlus added, "as he was right. Having the Lieutenant-Commander lead the mission made sense as it was Alliance territory."

"_And so the Alliance once again trusted a Williams to defend their colony and paid the price?"_

Ashley couldn't hold it back anymore. "With all due respect, Spectre Arterius," she was about to unload into him about how he would of been unable to do better before remembering the warning from Udina and paused a moment to change gears, leaving a brief silence on the whole meeting. "It's easy to say what could and should not have been done. I made mistakes, I'm only human," for some reason Udina facepalmed, "but I'm here answering for that. I've got nothing to hide."

"Simple, but well put," Tevos said with a nod. Kaidan was raising an eyebrow at Ashley before shrugging.

"_And yet it was because of you that the beacon was lost, as well as any lives that could have been saved from the knowledge within, any technological advances that we could have benefited from: lost."_

Shepard cut in this time. "If this beacon was so critical, why did you leave it to the Alliance soldiers instead of protecting it yourself, regardless of your belief in their competence? You knew we would be coming soon after to secure it. You claimed to need to disable anti-aircraft that the geth had set up, but why did it have to go down immediately instead of waiting for us to arrive and further secure the beacon?"

"A good question, actually," Udina admitted in surprise as he rubbed his chin.

"_Because I expected that the Alliance would have a level of competence in its men that they could handle defending a simple starport, and the sooner that the beacon was airlifted out of the area, the sooner such an important artifact would be safe from harm."_

"So how'd the soldiers you left die by headshots, then?" Ashley shot back, "Those husks at the beacon - they weren't shot up first in a firefight, they were executed," the crowd murmured at the implication and Udina glared at her.

"_Forensics is rather unclear as to the exact cause of death. Something to do with… oh," _Saren's tone was just short of outright mockery, _"shotgun blasts and several being covered in plasma from a canister that exploded?"_

"Not all were covered in plasma, and the shotgun blasts were accounted for in the report and we still have helmet camera footage confirming that," Anderson chimed in. "The headshot holes were filled with cybernetics, unlike the holes in the chest from being taken out."

Saren paused, then nodded._ "That only proves someone shot them in the head. Perhaps there was a traitor in their ranks, or perhaps the headshots were simply because the geth wished to ensure they remained dead before turning them into those husks you reported. That's all you have against me - barely tangential evidence, a deranged dockworker, and a prothean beacon with all knowledge within lost as proof. Hardly a case of legend."_

"Not all the knowledge of the beacon was lost," Anderson chimed in. "Before the beacon exploded, it uploaded some sort of vision into Sir Shepard here."

"_Are we allowing dreams into the evidence now? How am I supposed to defend against that?"_ Saren sounded completely incredulous at the idea.

"He's right, Captain," Shepard said, turning to Anderson. "I don't know what it is - random information or something from the beacon itself - but it had nothing to do with Saren. Something to save for the scientists to argue over in a lab."

"Thank you, Sir Shepard," Sparatus said with a nod. "That is a matter for another time."

"As to the evidence towards Saren himself, however, do you have any further proof besides the submitted reports and what has been discussed?" Councilor Tevos asked. The crowd was silent as all eyes fell on Udina.

"No, Councilor," Udina admitted dejectedly.

The Councilors looked at each other, ending with Tevos and Valern looking at Sparatus, who shook his head. The Councilors turned to their consoles and entered in their verdict to the bated breath among those assembled.

"While there is cause to investigate this matter further, there is insufficient proof to convict Spectre Arterius of these charges. The motion against him has failed."

"_Justice, at last. Now, perhaps, we can move onto a matter of candidates who may not be as good as promised…"_

"The evaluation of candidates is not a matter of this hearing, Spectre Arterius," Valern pointed out coldly. "Furthermore, any considerations of competence and qualifications fall upon Spectre Kryik to consider. Spectre Kryik, do you stand by your statement that the candidates acted upon their best ability in the situation?"

"Completely," Nihlus answered as he looked at Saren and narrowed his eyes. The hologram of the turian paused, then nodded quietly.

"_Then it seems I need to return to the business of protecting the galaxy, rather than answering false accusations,"_ the hologram vanished.

"Spectre Kryik, you mentioned you want to continue the evaluations without a pause to account for the results of the mission. Are you sure about this?" Sparatus asked Nihlus after a moment.

"Yes, Councilor. I believe that the evaluations can proceed as planned, as long as the Alliance continues providing us the vessel as per the agreement," Nihlus turned to the two and gave them a slight nod.

"Ambassador Udina?" Councilor Valern asked Udina who was gripping the rail so tightly that his knuckles were almost white.

"The Alliance... will uphold the agreement," Udina said, releasing his grip and schooling his face to a neutral expression. "Spectre Kryik and Sir Shepard are welcome to remain onboard the _Normandy_."

"Then this hearing is over. The Council shall retire," Tevos said, as the Councilors turned to leave. Udina remained standing for a moment before walking back to the group and they all moved down the stairs to the lower level.

"Saren has his bases covered. We need to find something to convict him," Udina said immediately once they were down the flight of stairs.

"No proof of his guilt has been found so far, what makes you so sure there is any?" Nihlus asked, joining the group and tilting his head towards the Alliance Ambassador.

"Because our investigations say he is guilty," Udina said, without turning to Nihlus, "Anderson, what the hell was that with the visions? Even with Shepard covering for you, it ate our credibility. It was a mistake to take you to the hearing."

"Look, rather than argue why Council does not believe us, how about we focus on how to prove Saren's guilt?" Anderson asked in annoyance. "I know there is a Shadow Broker agent in the Presidium. Maybe we could use his services?"

"Hmm... Perhaps, but the Council might question the information's credibility," Udina said, cupping his chin, "What about C-Sec?"

"We heard a turian, Garrus Vakarian, say something about evidence being intercepted," Ashley said, "We could ask him."

"You should do that. I can handle the Broker contact," Nihlus said.

"Why would you help us if you don't believe in his guilt?" Ashley asked, confused by Nihlus' proposal.

"If he is guilty, then we should prove it. If he is not, the sooner you people stop wasting everyones time trying to nail him, the better," Nihlus said, with what Ashley swore was a grin, or at least the turian equivalent. "Both ways, the truth comes out and the matter is settled."

"Makes sense," Kaidan chimed in. "If he's innocent, we can stop. If he's guilty, we get him. Either way it's justice."

"You're rather accepting of the possibility, Lieutenant," Shepard said in surprise.

"I still think Saren's a war criminal, but if we are wrong it'd be best to be certain that we are rather than have it in the air," he shrugged.

"That's my line of thought," Nihlus answered. "Just from the opposite end. But I'll talk to the local Shadow Broker agent, I don't want any of you ending up in debt with him before you're Spectres and able to legally do any deals you need to make."

"Uh, thanks?" Ashley said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm guessing the Broker demands high prices?"

"Often," Anderson explained. "But if you need information, the Broker - whoever he, she, it, or they is or are - has contacts everywhere. It's a necessary evil for galactic politics, though dubiously legal."

"The C-Sec officer is still the better route," Udina said as he folded his arms as people loitering the Council chambers were looking towards the rather large gathering. "Contact Officer Harkin, Commander, he should be able to find where this Garrus Vakarian is."

"Bah, I don't trust him," Anderson snorted. "He's a terrible excuse for a cop - I can't believe we're still letting his discharge sit in red tape limbo."

"And once again you prove why it was a mistake to bring you in for the trial…" Udina muttered in annoyance. "Besides, Harkin is well versed in C-Sec matters and he's more likely to talk then a C-Sec officer at the academy. They would just write a memo and let it sit until the officer you're looking for finds it."

"Based on his reactions to the Executor and his last remark," Nihlus cut in, "I'd say he's about to do something about the evidence, so we don't have time to wait for him to get a note."

"Alright, I'll go for Harkin then," Ashley said as she glanced to Shepard and Kaidan. "You two coming with me?"

"Gladly," Kaidan answered.

"You didn't even need to ask," Shepard answered as she folded her arms, obscuring the crest on her tunic.

"Good. You three go find Harkin, he should be lingering in Chora's Den," Udina said with a nod. "Anderson, you'll come with me. There'll be a lot of paperwork to handle and as the _Normandy_'s captain you will need to sign much of it."

"Very well, Ambassador," the captain shook his head and looked to the team. "Be careful, though. Harkin is a menace, and Saren may take matters into his own hands to cover his bases further."

"That remains to be seen," Nihlus answered before shrugging and glancing between Ashley and Shepard briefly before nodding to himself. "I'll contact you if I have any leads that I need help with or if it will be useful to you. I'll send a nav point to Chora's Den and a few other major locations in the Wards to your omni-tools. Head out as soon as you make any preparations needed."

"Understood," Ashley answered with a nod, and the turian Spectre walked away.

"Come, Captain," Udina said, "We have a lot of work to do and things to discuss," the two followed Nihlus towards the elevator and left the three alone.

Ashley glanced to the others. "Any preparations?"

"Just want to drop the cloak off," Shepard said, tugging at it.

"Some extra medi-gel might be a good idea," Kaidan added.

"We can grab some at the embassy while dropping of Shepard's cloak, then it's down to the Wards."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After a short detour to embassy (where Udina and Leonidas were arguing over some detail about jurisdictions with an amused Anderson standing to the side), the group was waiting for the elevator to take them to the Citadel Wards.

"So, who should we talk to first to find this Harkin?" Shepard asked. Ashley merely shrugged.

"Ambassador Udina said that he was at Chora's Den," she said. "Based on the Captain's reaction to him, he's probably spending a lot of time there."

"What is Chora's Den anyways?" Kaidan asked curiously as they stepped into the elevator.

"Some, uh, 'gentleman's club' down in the Wards," Shepard said as she looked at her omni-tool. "At least that's what I'm getting from the navpoint Nihlus sent us."

"Charming," Kaidan said as the elevator came to a stop and opened. The three paused as they came into the crowded area and stared out to a vista past the crowd and stretching far into the distance, slowly walking over to the railing. The three humans were quickly leaning against it, looking out into the view as turian cruisers were making their rounds across the station, the _Destiny Ascension_ at one of the distant arms, and they took in the vista before them.

"Big place," Kaidan whispered out as they looked out and the sheer scale of the Citadel hit them.

"That your professional opinion, LT?" Ashley teased, though she still felt absolutely tiny when she saw how big the Citadel really was.

"He's right, though," Shepard said as she looked out at the Citadel. "This isn't just some space station like the Codex says, it's a city. Practically a planet."

"There must be millions here!" Kaidan exclaimed, still audibly reeling from the sight. "There's no way even the STG would be able to track everyone coming and going."

"It does makes Ezekiel Station look like an outhouse," Shepard chimed in, "And considering that spacedock was meant for building the new _Barbossa_ class, it's the largest station the Empire has."

"Yeah, and Jump Zero's a port-a-john," Ashley said as she looked over the railing, wondering if she would be able to spit over the side.

"Jump Zero's big alright, but I don't think anything humanity could put together would compare to the sheer scale," he was leaning on the railing and gestured towards one of the distant arms where the _Destiny Ascension_ was. "Look at those Ward arms! How do they keep that much mass from flying apart?"

"No wonder the Council is so eager to have us figure out our issues," Shepard said as she looked towards them. "The Council is responsible for so much, so many people," she shook her head. "They can't tell you the scale of the galaxy from a textbook or put it on a map; you have to see it here to really appreciate it."

"Yeah, exactly," Kaidan said as he took a step back. "This is the scale where a rounding error could lead to mass starvation, never mind a major tip in the political balance of power. If either the Alliance or Empire got a Council seat, or even both of us, then everything changes dramatically."

"I think I'm starting to understand why the Empire was never able to get a Council seat despite being members in good standing for half a century," Shepard said. "You're right, tipping the balance of power in any major way could have huge repercussions."

"And we also bring our own problems," Kaidan added as he looked down over the railing. "Keeping all these cultures working together has to be difficult. No wonder why they're so worried about us, all of us. We're just more of the same on a larger scale."

"We do offer a challenge that the Council's structure wasn't built for," Shepard admitted. "But looking out here… makes our problems seem smaller. Like they have bigger matters then our disagreement of the month."

Ashley rubbed her chin thoughtfully before leaning back on the railing and bitterly adding, "Or maybe they just don't like humans."

"Why not?" Kaidan asked with a cheeky grin. "We've got oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love… ask all the old vids and we've got everything they want."

"If you expect to get me in a tinfoil miniskirt and thigh high boots, I want dinner first," Ashley immediately shot back as Shepard was staring at Kaidan in confusion. Ashley paused, mortification crossing her face and body temperature rising before she turned her head back towards the sight before them and added, "Lieutenant."

"I can't see you dressed up for a gala with all the other ladies of court, Williams," Shepard commented with a sly grin.

"Uh, damn straight you can't, knight," Ashley shot back before curling her lips. "Betcha you'd be a damn near Disney."

"Disney?" Shepard asked in confusion as Kaidan snickered.

"Well, good to know there's no reason the aliens wouldn't like you two. Uh," he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, like us. Humans."

Ashley and Shepard looked at each other with raised eyebrows before Shepard finally shrugged. "Alright Commander, I'll walk drag."

Kaidan did not look wholly unappreciative of the idea as they moved on.

Continuing their way towards Chora's Den, they came across the local market. Ashley noted that unlike in Alliance territories, one could openly buy weapons at what was essentially street vendors, as well as mods for them. There were also a few people selling biotic amps and omni-tool upgrades, alongside assortments of equipment mundane and military alike. While heading towards the stairs that would take them to the lower level, they heard a shout.

"_*hiss* _Sir Shepard! _*hiss*_ Over here!" the unmistakable voice of a volus called for them. Pausing and glancing to Shepard, the group turned around and walked towards the volus that hailed them.

"How can we help you?" Shepard asked, somewhat uncertainly.

"You do not recognize me, Sir Shepard? _*hiss*_ You wound me," the volus said, though Ashley was sure that if she could see it, the volus would be grinning.

"Sorry, no," Shepard shook her head. "I hope I don't offend you, but how do you know me?"

"_*hiss*_ One tends to remember a kid _*hiss* _that tried to claim a shipment of toys, _*hiss*_ by claiming to be the Imperial Consort," the volus responded. Shepard turned red, which was a quite a feat with her darker complexion, before facepalming.

"Hi, Expat. You planned to embarrass me all this time?" Shepard said, despite having a smile on her face.

"Actually, _*hiss* _I was running an errand for your mother. _*hiss* _She sent you a package. _*hiss* _I planned to drop it by the embassy, _*hiss* _since they would know your whereabouts, _*hiss* _but then I saw you walking by," the volus said, reaching down below the counter and pulling out a box. Shepard opened it and pulled a black tabard with a white a Maltese Cross on it - the Hospitaller's insignia.

"Huh, I was actually planning to ask the Order for more, my last one got torn," she said, putting the tabard down and looking further down the box and before pulling out another tabard.

This one was different. It was divided into four sections, with upper-left and bottom-right corners colored yellow, with other two colored blue. On the yellow, there were blue crescent moons, both facing to the center. On the blue, there were yellow lions, also facing to the center.

"I can understand a black tabard on the battlefield," Ashley said as she tilted her head to look at it, "but yellow and blue?"

"Family heraldry," Shepard answered, putting the tabards away, "they are used when I am at home for formal occasions, same idea as Hospitaller colors at the trial. The House Guard does use them, but if called to war they leave them behind. Besides, what was that on the _Normandy_ about white-on-pink?"

"Point taken," Ashley nodded as she curled her lip.

"You might still want to take them to the embassy," Shepard added as she turned back to Expat. "Tell them to forward them to the ship I'm currently based on. I am running an errand at the moment, so..."

"I understand, _*hiss*_ Take care of yourself, Shepard-Clan," Expat said, putting the box away.

"You too, Expat."

"The Imperial Consort?" Kaidan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was four, okay? I didn't know better."

"And I thought little girls back home were bad about playing princess," he grinned widely, leaving Shepard rolling her eyes as they headed down the stairs. Just as they were about to step off the stairs, Kaidan ran into a heavily scarred and burly mass of red who had just turned the corner. Kaidan landed on his backside and looked up to see a krogan staring him down.

"Watch where you're going, human," the krogan rumbled, a large shotgun on his back.

"Sorry," Kaidan apologized, picking himself off the floor.

"Hmph," the krogan snorted and continued on.

"Krogans," Shepard muttered as they continued their way. "Just because you can take an anti-tank round to the face and still beat the crap out of a team of knights does not mean you can just ignore everyone," Ashley and Kaidan both raised an eyebrow at Shepard before shrugging and moving on down the stairs to their destination.

"So, I wonder what kind of 'club' Chora's Den is," Ashley asked curiously as the tunnel opened to a blue lit alleyway leading up to it and she saw three suspicious looking turians ahead. All of them with face paint that looked like a skull.

"That's them, the Eden Prime team, let's go!" one of the turians said just a bit too loudly and all three suddenly drew pistols.

"_Cover!"_ Ashley and Shepard shouted simultaneously as all three of them threw themselves forward, the kinetic barriers in their outfits reacting to the incoming fire, but the barriers they had were far weaker than those in their proper hardsuits, and the flash from Shepard's indicated hers had gone out entirely. All three drew their pistols and were crouching behind the solid fence opposite of the gunmen, Shepard on Ashley's left and Kaidan on her right.

"Pick a target and let 'em have it, I got the middle one," Ashley ordered. Shepard opened her mouth to retort, then nodded and began glowing with biotic energy. The three rose out of cover and simultaneously attacked the turians. Ashley aimed for the middle turian, hitting him with three shots, the first two taking out his kinetic barriers and the third put a hole right into his mouth. Kaidan meanwhile grabbed the right side turian with his biotics, lifting him into the air before hurling him into the chasm below. The last one was biotically grappled by Shepard, and was tugged towards the knight and the turian only had just enough time to swear loudly before a biotic punch connected with his midsection and blew him into the opposite fence before the broken remains fell into the chasm below.

"What the hell was that?" Kaidan asked as they holstered their pistols after a few seconds passed and no other attacks came.

"Saren's men," Shepard answered as she grit her teeth. "No other explanation - they identified us as the team on Eden Prime."

Kaidan nodded. "Great, and now we have to wait for C-Sec to get here…"

"Bad idea," Ashley said as they crossed over the bridge to the turian that she had killed. Kaidan activated his omni-tool and aimed it at the turian as they approached him. The turian was staring towards the ceiling above blankly, his mouth blown open and the face paint covered in blue blood.

"Why?" Kaidan asked as he started activating his omni-tool's call function, "We just got attacked."

"And if Saren's smart, he'll have more assassins after us. If we wait for C-Sec, we'll probably get attacked again. Or worse, Saren will have them arrest us."

"I'm not really comfortable with the idea of dodging C-Sec, we just had a firefight on the Citadel…" Kaidan's hand was just over the button to confirm his call.

"Hang on," Shepard said as she activated her omni-tool. "Spectre Kryik, do you copy? This is Sir Shepard," she nodded to the others and they activated their omni-tools, syncing with Shepard's call.

"_Nihlus here; I copy. Anything to report?"_ Nihlus answered several seconds later.

"We just got attacked by three turian gunmen," Ashley explained, "right outside of Chora's Den. All three are dead."

"Do you want us to wait for C-Sec?" Kaidan asked.

"_That's a negative, Lieutenant. Do not get C-Sec involved. I'll use my authority to label the incident that just happened as a Spectre matter - get to Harkin and find Vakarian. I'll meet up with you as soon as I can. Too sensitive to discuss on an open channel."_

"Understood," Shepard answered.

"_Good. Nihlus out."_

"Well, this just gets better and better," Kaidan muttered as they switched their omni-tools off. "Assassins after us, a rogue Spectre, and we're now being told to not involve the police."

"As I said," Ashley answered as the three started walking towards Chora's Den, more alert now as they knew they might be attacked, "Saren could probably use C-Sec to frame us. Keep alert, LT, there's no telling -" the door opened and all three of them stopped in their tracks as they saw what was inside.

Darkly lit and with club music pulsing in the background, it was clear just what kind of gentleman was referred to when Chora's Den was referred to as a gentleman's club. It was no posh restaurant with classical music, but a dimly lit hive of lust luring those who entered to partake in baser pleasures and emotions. Asari and human women were dancing on poles or platforms above in revealing outfits while drinks were being served liberally to the patrons at the bars.

Ashley sighed in annoyance. "A million light years from where humanity began, and we walk into a bar of men staring at half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't tell if that's funny or sad."

"What, you don't think they're here for the food? Or the uh, view," Kaidan offered as he was very clearly trying to avoid looking up, mouth hanging open slightly.

"You really don't get out much, do you?" Shepard said, though even she was clearly surprised at the place they had walked into.

"Come on, let's find Harkin and get out of here," Ashley muttered as they began picking their way through the crowd.

Despite what video games and fiction would have one believe, finding a person you do not know is a lot harder in a crowded place then just walking to a waypoint. And with all the clientele present, they were standing out far more than they wanted to, but the cast of characters within was quite colorful. A krogan bouncer, an angry looking batarian sitting in front of a dancing human women on a table, a pair of salarian businessmen, even a turian general, based on the rank insignia his outfit.

"Why, you imbecile," the turian muttered angrily to himself, "why Shi'ira?"

"Hard to see a general upset over some woman," Kaidan muttered as they passed the general.

"That's because you don't understand women, Lieutenant," Ashley answered back more harshly than she intended as a pair of young men were wolf whistling as they looked in her direction. _Pervs,_ she thought as she kept forcing herself to look through the bad crowd they were in. "This isn't working, either Harkin's not here or…"

"Well well!" a loud voice from a table a half meter to the side said as a bald human looking to be in his forties said as he looked at them with a shit eating grin. "The Williams family finally turns traitor and joins the bible thumpers!"

"What on Earth are you babbling about?" Ashley asked angrily as the three walked over and she put her fists on the table in front of him, staring him down. "Harkin, right?" she asked.

"The one and only. And to answer your question; you're flanked by a freaking knight. Maybe you just like cosplaying instead?"

"What a gentleman," Kaidan muttered in disbelief as Shepard simply folded her arms.

"Or maybe you decided that your grandfather had the right idea about entertaining the idea of joining the Empire," Harkin continued. "Man, that'll be a story. The heroines of Eden Prime - one's a knight, the other's an Alliance soldier… together they both go to church and the former converts the latter!" Harkin chuckled as he looked at Shepard. "How 'bout you, Cinderella? Find a good Prince Charming yet? This fishbone looks too common for that," he nodded towards Kaidan.

"And that 'fishbone' has more honor than you'll ever dream of," Shepard shot back, "But what's with you and badmouthing the Lieutenant-Commander's family?"

"Probably just bullshit about Shanxi," Ashley answered, having performed the song and dance over the issue dozens of times before. "Not important."

"Oh, you mean you don't know?" Harkin chuckled darkly, attracting her attention. "Oh this is rich. I figured the reason it's not public knowledge was because the Alliance clamped down on it, but your own family not telling you?" Harkin stretched his arms and put his hands behind his head, leaning back in the chair. "You never knew that your grandfather - hell, probably your parents too - seriously considered joining the Empire?"

Ashley shook her head. It had to be a lie… right?

"I'm surprised," Harkin continued after her silent answer. "They made him a hell of an offer. They were pretty much offering to make him one of their nobles - a damn straight blue blood as the first human to abandon reason for religion!"

"Oh great, one of those guys," Kaidan muttered in annoyance, "just what we needed…"

"Bullshit," Ashley finally said as she leaned forward, struggling to avoid simply slugging him across the face. "I'm loyal to the Alliance, like my father before me and my grandfather, all the way to my great-grandmother. We all picked up a rifle and swore the Oath of Service."

"Well, so much for your big family history of service. I'm surprised, but I guess your paps decided that you might as well not know that the Williams family was always traitor material," he leaned forward and turned his head slightly as he looked at Ashley. "See, after Shanxi the Alliance was pressing charges against your grandfather. After all, the turians did just sweep in and take a colony."

"Put up a bigger fight than you ever could," she shot back as putting a black mark on his eye was becoming more and more attractive.

"Maybe, but after all was said and done, well, you know the story. He got shipped in irons back to Earth and charges were being drawn up. After all, someone had to hang for that embarrassment, might as well be the guy who lead us into that," he looked at Shepard. "Then Miss Imperial's emperor decided it was a good time to start courting him - no, not like that, but to get him to defect."

"My grandfather was a loyal man, he wouldn't defect to the Empire," she paused, briefly glancing to Shepard and about to say no offense, before stopping herself and turning back to Harkin. The 'on-leave' C-Sec officer simply shook his head. Who was this clown making big claims about _her_ family?

"Nope. In fact, the only reason he stayed Alliance was that he was able to blackmail the brass into not only dropping the charges but making sure that you Williams could still serve. He could have become nobility in the Empire, given his own little fief and serfs in irons…"

"Commoners are _not_ slaves!" Shepard hotly answered as she clenched her fists and her left arm was moving forward, with Kaidan holding a hand out before it went too far.

"Whatever," the ex-cop continued unabated, "but he decided to instead blackmail the brass so that they gave him a good deal so he wouldn't go over and hand over all the Alliance's defense codes, intel, all the good stuff that could of let ol' Titus go on a nice crusade. So yeah, if he had just decided not to blackmail it's quite possible it'd of been _two_ little imperial princesses walking in with prince charming over here."

"And you'd still be an ugly son of a bitch," Kaidan growled, Ashley both surprised but also enjoying the restrained venom he was putting into his voice. "Besides, we aren't here for your slander, speculation, and insults. Garrus Vakarian. Where is he?"

"Ah, information you want, eh?" Harkin said as he leaned back in his chair. Ashley stood back to her full height and looked down on him - all three of them did and doing that was no challenge from any perspective. "Yeah, Vakarian. Real cowboy, him. Roughing up suspects, playing it risky in hostage situations, a designated sniper for C-Sec… just the type for you guys to hang with. I know where he is. I'll even tell you for free."

"Why?" Shepard asked hotly. "You obviously don't like us."

"Because watching you all squirm as you try to put your fancy little morality to the hard truth of reality was more than enough entertainment - almost enough to buy you all drinks. Now then, if you're looking for Garrus you should try the alley - the big white tunnel that connects the Wards to the C-Sec academy lift near Flux and the markets. Ol' Garrus is planning on pissing the executor off royally and he's meeting a krogan who stormed out of here several minutes ago threatening to kill the big guy here."

"Alright, let's go," Shepard said with a nod and the three left far quicker than they had come in.

"And think about the truth, 'heroes'!" Harkin shouted after them, laughing away all the way until the doors to Chora's Den closed.

"You think it's true? What Harkin said about my grandfather?" Ashley asked as soon as they were outside, struggling with the idea. Her own grandfather blackmailing the Alliance brass? It was obviously false, but for some reason the idea was digging away at her. Like a thorn that she tried to pretend never pricked her. It just made too much sense no matter how much she wanted to just assume it was Harkin lying, it perfectly filled in gaps in her family history that she had always wondered about.

"It's certainly possible," Shepard said as she put a hand on her shoulder, which Ashley shook off. Sympathy from an Imperial was not what she wanted for this kind of thing.

"Forget Harkin," Kaidan angrily snarled. "He's just trying to get under our skin. He probably made all that bullshit up on the fly. Besides, if it's really bugging you, you can ask Captain Anderson. He served at Shanxi, he would've been around for that. Or you could ask your mother; I doubt your grandfather would have considered such a big choice without talking to your parents."

Ashley nodded, taking a deep breath and putting her focus on the situation at hand. "Yeah, you're right. For now, though, we need to get to Vakarian. I'll fill Nihlus in as we go," she activated her omni-tool and they moved out.

The group began to head back to the C-Sec academy, cutting through the route they had taken earlier before turning around near Flux nightclub. Nihlus had been filled in and said he would try to meet them. It did not take them long to find a turian and a krogan talking - krogan and turians together stand out, particularly in empty, brightly lit alleyways.

"That's final. Do we have a deal or not?" the scarred krogan rumbled.

"Fine. I need that data," the turian responded with folded arms, clearly annoyed.

"Garrus Vakarian?" Ashley asked when they walked to them.

"Huh, what? That's me. Were you sent by... no wait, you're the Eden Prime ground team," Vakarian responded, turning to face them and unfolding his arms.

"Yes, that's us," Ashley confirmed. "Saren got off scot free, but we heard you had something on him."

"Doesn't surprise me..." Vakarian admitted as if it was not the first time. "I do have something, though. The tip line VI flagged something as a high priority to me and it never does that unless it's _very_ condemning. Yet, when the data was being transferred to me, someone intercepted it."

"So, how does a krogan factor into this?" Shepard asked, nodding at the krogan who was standing behind Vakarian. Ashley noted that his old scars reminded her eerily of claws, even digging into the red plate that protected the krogan's head.

"I tracked the data down to Chora's Den," Vakarian continued. The team took a quick glance towards each other at the name. "I tried to get Fist to give the data to me. He just showed me the door and I was outnumbered by his thugs. I needed help. Then I got a tip that Urdnot Wrex here was hired by Shadow Broker to take down Fist," Vakarian gestured to the krogan behind him.

"Fist did something stupid. He took data the Broker wanted, attracted attention, _and_ betrayed the Broker. You don't betray Broker," Wrex rumbled. "I was told to make him an example as to why."

"Hmm... We got attacked when we tried to approach Chora's Den earlier, to get info about your location," Ashley said. "We could help you to get that information."

"I dunno Commander..." Kaidan said, scratching his neck. "I mean, we would be assaulting a civilian location. Publicly, at that. Shouldn't this be C-Sec's job?"

"By the time C-Sec gets through the red tape we will have already died from the old age, Wrex included," Vakarian countered. "Besides, if he is using the Shadow Broker's tech to intercept the data, how long until he cracks the encryption and destroys the data?"

"Good point," Shepard said, nodding her head. "Besides, the Hospitallers always had an issue with Fist. We _know_ he deals with slavers, even if he does not deal in slaves. We just never could get any solid dirt on him. A chance to mess with his operations? Count me in," she said, tapping the pistol she was carrying.

"I guess I should come along then too... You guys are going to need someone to patch you up after you get shot up, at least until Chakwas can chew you out," Kaidan sighed.

"So... you're going to help me? You aren't worried about C-Sec?" Vakarian asked, his mandibles flaring in surprise.

"We got a Spectre backing us. He already told us to get the data, so anything we do, it's a Spectre job," Ashley said.

"Thus eliminating need for bureaucracy and allowing us to do what needs to be done. Nice," Vakarian said with a hint of admiration.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go bag us an idiot," Wrex said, reaching behind him and grabbing a shotgun that looked like a brick with a trigger.

"Hang on," Kaidan added quickly, "Shouldn't we contact Nihlus first? Confirm that we're a go for this? I know, better to ask forgiveness than permission, but… presuming Spectre authority might be crossing the line even if we are working with one."

"That won't be necessary, Lieutenant, though you are correct," another voice cut in from the Wards side and the group turned to see Nihlus standing there with his shotgun in hand. "I can confirm Officer Vakarian's assertions that Fist stole the data - he has the goods on Saren."

"Spectre Kryik," Vakarian said, nodding respectfully. "I take it then that this operation is now under Spectre jurisdiction? Executor Pallin can't touch it?"

"He can complain to the Council," Nihlus admitted, "but that's it," he reached to his back to grab an assault rifle and passed it to Ashley. She took it and looked down the scope, the grip was not what she was used to, since it was a custom job meant for a turian's grip, but she could compensate. Based on the smell, it was newly modified, or perhaps repaired as he had lacked it on Eden Prime.

"Thanks," she said as she lowered it, identifying it as a Phaeston, the go-to assault rifle of the turian military.

"You don't have biotics, so you need some heavier firepower," he nodded to Shepard, who paused a moment before nodding in return. "Now then, we're going to need two teams. Vakarian, you're a designated marksman for C-Sec, right?"

"That I am," the other turian said as he deployed his sniper rifle.

"Good. I want you, Williams, and Alenko on overwatch and suppressive duty. Snipe out any big targets that pop up and keep them down so the rest of us can get in close, then follow us in."

"Don't worry about me," the krogan said confidently, "I won't need the cover."

"Good," Nihlus said with a nod as the squad did a weapons check. "Let's move."

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**End Chapter**

**Authors' Notes:** _That takes care of part two of the events on the Citadel. One more chapter will be coming up what happens on Citadel, before we head off to the galaxy at large._

_Also, a fun game for those who seek differences from the canon in the story: Try to find who is missing._

_We would like to thank ww1990ww, The Poarter, Hypastpist, TheDarkestNight33, and medchsta for their reviews._

_As for the Codex entries for this chapter, we have overviews of Star Empires military. While not directly discussed, we wanted to show these now._

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**Codex: Star Empire Military - Overview**

The Star Empire is perhaps the best galactic case study of tactics evolving. Without the years of pre-eezo limited space warfare due to their rapid uplift, the Star Empire's doctrines had many elements of their archaic skills translated into space. While the Empire did not use square blocks of infantry charging headlong into another block once they became the Star Empire, their overall strategies showed inexperience beyond Nod. During their first real galactic war, the Batarian Crusade, the flaws in their doctrine became prominent and the Empire adopted a far more turian-like doctrine.

Before the Batarian Crusade, the Empire's tactics were described by themselves as that of the Roman Empire, a state that had existed on their homeworld. Forces would engage, then be cycled out and replaced with fresh troops, allowing their own to recover while the enemy would theoretically be bled out in a constant steamroller. However, while in theory this sounded like an ideal way to fight war, the realities of galactic war proved that this strategy did not to translate well into three dimensional warfare. Some commanders still attempt to leverage this ability, if they have the numbers to do so. However, while the theme of sharing the burden on their defenses remains, a full force rotation has faded into history.

The modern Star Empire's combat tactics are best described as a mainline force supported by powerful, but low duration shock and awe attacks to break their opponents. The Star Empire makes greater use of GARDIAN lasers than other militaries, sacrificing some kinetic barrier power for superior point defenses on their space ships - a practice developed in response to batarian boarding parties. They also use GARDIAN systems offensively, loading up ships with them for shock and awe attacks. These "hammer units" swing in and deal as much damage as possible before pulling out, allowing the mainline ships to move into the gap created. This keeps the enemy pinned down and prevents them from counterattacking these hammer units so they can cool down for another run. These hammer units are notoriously fragile given the Star Empire's turian-esque tactics, but this is not due to weak armor, but rather due to reliance on GARDIAN, which has a finite supply of heat absorption before it needs to vent and recharge. Hammer units which get pinned down and unable to withdraw to recharge have become known as easy pickings.

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Space**

Ship design within the Empire primarily draws from the volus and asari, the former due to the direct uplifting and the latter due to needing stardocks to assemble their ships in. Imperial space forces are well known for usage of additional GARDIAN lasers, more so than their turian or asari counterparts. However, the expense of these lasers, particularly the power cost, means that the Empire's vessels have weaker kinetic barriers than those employed by their counterparts of equal cost. To compensate for this, it is common for fleet units to attempt to remain in close proximity in order to share GARDIAN coverage and they have devoted much of their R&amp;D time into creating defense VI programs which can pair off point defense laser strikes to maximize their coverage duration. This trading off, while complicated to perform, enables skilled crews to greatly extend the length of their GARDIAN defenses.

Although the Empire leans on asari and volus aid in constructing their fleet, they are not without native assets. Their primary shipyard, Ezekiel Stardock, was completed in 2653 GS (2153 CE) to facilitate the assembly of new ships of all classes and is taken as a sign that the Empire will eventually be wholly self-sufficient. Besides a solid interstellar engineering program taught to many young members of the Empire, the Star Empire is also known to employ quarian converts to the Faith of Abraham to take advantage of their natural affinity for engineering and virtual intelligence in designing starships.

The Empire's fleet also has a high presence of the Imperial Administration within its vessels. These officers are responsible for ensuring loyalty to the empire and that house loyalties are kept in check. Although the official military nominally answers only to the Emperor and the chain of command from there, in practice only the fleet truly follows this system as no noble is foolish enough to risk the Emperor's wrath in a matter critical to all elements of the Empire. The officers assigned by the Imperial Administration are also skilled in a variety of tasks and are expected to contribute to ships operations beyond mere observation.

Note that the Chivalric Orders of the Star Empire do have space assets, but they are limited to frigates and fighters with very few if any Orders maintaining a cruiser, and those that do generally use it more as a mobile base and headquarters then as a ship to deploy into war. Orders are only permitted one fleet group of frigates and fighters.

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces**

On the ground, the Star Empire again uses standard galactic tactics: Infantry armed with standardized patterns of small arms, body armor, and kinetic barriers supported by ground vehicles and air support. However, the Star Empire has also been experimenting with ground based GARDIAN weaponry for their elite forces due to their extra experience with it from the Batarian Crusades. Unlike their space doctrines, however, the Star Empire was able to learn ground based warfare faster, as they found themselves engaged in smaller scale actions, including pre-eezo tech level wars on Nod.

The Star Empire's military has a certain degree of decentralization and home brewed defense, giving it an advantage there. Many nobles maintain civil levies which have been well regulated and trained, usually led by veterans from their service as drillmasters (particularly those who are too old for combat) and occasionally as officers. These levies also serve as a local police force. Many houses also maintain elite troops, known as House Guards, for their personal use.

Thanks to this decentralized structure, the Star Empire can quickly raise a number of troops to replace losses and attacks on Empire planets requires being able to stamp out a civil uprising in favor of the defenders. However, these levies are ill suited for extended operations elsewhere due to using cheap and often outdated armor and weapons (affectionately referred to as wool tunics and paintballs, respectively) and as such are usually used as garrisons, overseen by professional soldiers, who have more up to date equipment.

Unlike the fleet, which due to high presence of Imperial Administration officers in observatory role is houseless, ground forces are not as much regulated and house loyalty is significantly higher in ground based units. While most soldiers in these forces are loyal to their Emperor, many units are locally drawn and thus loyal to local nobility. Most ground units have their personal loyalty to the planetary governor's house, or a noble under that house. Although troubling, most Emperors have accepted this_ de facto_ state as long as the nobility does not cause trouble and only use their private assets in squabbles with each other. When public assets become involved in private affairs, interventions occur. This has happened rarely, however, and for the most part Emperors are content to allow the nobility to hold onto a relic of the past.

The Star Empire's navy may still be somewhat behind the turians, but their ground forces are not. This is in part due to buying from outside sources, such as Elkoss Combine, to supply themselves. While they maintain native production - particularly for vehicles - they have been satisfied with buying off the shelf for their small arms and even have a license to produce certain types of equipment to sustain their military. Some groups of nobles prefer native production, but the Imperial Army utilizes standard issue gear and therefore use gear acquired from Elkoss Combine.

Chivalric Orders primarily add ground forces to any battle they participate in, their soldiers and members often being superior to those of the standing military, due to strong military traditions and often being members of the nobility or favored by them. Due to their size, the Orders are considered an auxiliary part of the Imperial Army and not a main fighting force. Orders primarily contribute elite infantry to battles rather than ground armor.


	6. Priority: The Citadel - Chora's Den

**Outside of Chora's Den**

"Looks like Fist knows we're coming, it's closed," Vakarian said as he gestured towards the turned off neon sign. The team was across the alley from their target. Etel nodded to the turian officer, remembering how just a short hour ago they had been attacked by assassins there.

"Okay," Nihlus said as he looked at them, "our comms synced up?" Everyone's omni-tool glowed briefly as they checked and a chorus of affirmatives sounded off. "Good. Assault Team goes in first and shocks them. Overwatch Team, come in behind us and pick off any major targets while we create chaos. Alenko, I want you focused on counteracting any biotic attacks."

"Got it," the Alliance biotic said with his pistol in hand.

"They have a krogan bouncer," Wrex added, "Let me handle him while the rest of you clear the riff-raff."

Etel paused, then nodded. "Makes sense. Call out if you need help with him, though."

The krogan growled at her, "Don't insult me," Etel paused, curling her lip before the krogan broke out into a grin and she exhaled softly in relief. "Nah, I won't need the help, but thanks for the offer."

"One more thing," Kaidan added, "What do we do if C-Sec shows up?"

"Don't kill them," Vakarian cut in, "but I've got no objections to knocking them out if needed. I've got some concussive rounds for that if we need it."

Nihlus nodded. "Agreed, but I have a VI set to disarm any C-Sec response calls and tell them to stay out of our way."

"Alright then," Williams said as she adjusted her grip on the Phaeston assault rifle Nihlus had given her, "Ready when you are, Nihlus."

The turian Spectre nodded. "Move out."

Etel, Wrex, and Nihlus rushed forward, with Nihlus hurling a charge on the door and overloading it, causing it to open and allow them inside. Wrex took point, charging headlong into the fray with Nihlus and Etel behind him, kicking over tables on each side of the doorway to make cover as a sniper round from Vakarian's rifle rang out from behind them, picking off the bartender with a shotgun who was facing the door the moment Wrex was clear. The krogan mercenary was currently grabbing another thug and throwing him into a bipedal mech.

"LOKI mechs!" Nihlus warned as he rose out of cover and blew a thug away with his shotgun. Etel nodded, lifting one of the mechs and throwing it towards another thug. Assault rifle fire sprayed towards her side of the club as Ashley took a position behind the doorway, while Wrex was on Nihlus' side and the krogan bouncer had come out to fight.

"I… AM… KR-"

"_Worthless!"_ Wrex interrupted as he headbutted the krogan bouncer and knocked him to the ground mid charge. Etel heard an electric growl and barely had time to react as a four legged mech leapt out from behind the bar as she dropped back into cover after her biotic attack and it grabbed her. She grunted in pain as an electric shock went through her outfit before she managed to activate her omni-blade and stabbed the mech in the side before kicking it back towards the bar.

"_Look alive! Enemy engineer with a turret topside!"_ Vakarian warned through their omni-tools.

"I see him!" Nihlus answered as he blasted another LOKI mech's head off.

"_Turret online!"_ the enemy engineer shouted to his comrades as the krogan bouncer grabbed a table and smashed it against Wrex, the older krogan shrugging the hit off before retaliating with a shotgun blast as Alenko overloaded a FENRIS mech coming out from the back.

"How many thugs are there?" Etel shouted as she stormed to the next table, using a biotic barrier to shrug off a shotgun blast before reaching over the kicked over table and grabbing the thug in question, flinging her over the table and impaling her with an omni-blade.

"More than there should be!" Nihlus called back. "Williams, cover me!"

The Alliance commander laid down a suppressive burst as she moved to the knocked over table Nihlus had used for cover, her kinetic barrier breaking as she got behind the table to avoid fire from the turret as Nihlus sprang forward. Etel glanced over and saw a batarian rushing towards her with an omni-tool projected gauntlet around his fist.

"You want a melee fight, slave?!" the batarian shouted as he leapt over and knocked her pistol out of her hand. "Come and get one!" He drew his arm back and punched her square in the chest before she could counter with her own biotics, knocking her into the wall behind her as Nihlus destroyed the turret.

"Mind over matter!" a woman shouted and Williams was suddenly floating out of cover and a bullet went through her shoulder.

"_Watch out - asari dancer with biotics!"_ Vakarian called out as another sniper round rang into the bar and took out a LOKI mech.

"I've got her!" Alenko shouted.

Etel shook her head and looked at the batarian in front of her and charged her omni-blade, striking him in the leg before screaming as she felt something stab into her arm. The batarian laughed as he picked her up and threw her back into the table she had kicked over. "Stupid human! Can't even see the blade armor!"

She growled as she shut her omni-blade off and charged her biotics, lifting the batarian into the air before throwing him into a stool that had been broken by an awry shotgun blast. The batarian crashed into it, kinetic barrier activating to stop the stool from impaling him but it knocked him off. She dove for her pistol, grabbing it and shooting the batarian with several rapid shots. The batarian staggered back from the hits before rising back to his full height and revealing he had a shotgun of his own…

…And then his head exploded as a sniper round went through it. "Scoped and dropped!" Vakarian called from his new position at the doorway.

"Thank you!" Etel answered as another thug was rushing her with a pistol. A biotic pull and a biotically charged punch later, and the goon was short an arm and spinning into the wall that she had hit earlier. She turned, seeing Williams nursing her shoulder as Nihlus and Alenko had taken out the asari dancer who had attacked them and Wrex was using the krogan bouncer's body as a club, crushing the engineer and another thug with him and a disquiet fell over the bar.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Williams, how bad?" Etel asked.

"I'll be fine, BDU caught most of it. You?"

"I'll live, blade armor's nasty," she explained as she put a hand on her forearm, "It's covered in serrated blades that dig into you when you connect a punch or omni-blade strike."

"That's impressive," Alenko said as he walked over to Williams and held up his omni-tool. "And you'll be fine; small dose of medi-gel and you won't even scar."

"Heh, thanks," Williams said. "Nice job on that dancer, by the way."

Etel glanced over and saw that the asari who had attacked them had her head blown off and her body had been hurled onto a broken pole. Alenko looked back at his handiwork and winced. Nihlus walked up to the krogan bouncer and prodded him with his shotgun as Wrex was casually pulling pieces of metal debris out of his armor. "He's down," Nihlus declared. "Alright, let's move on."

The team moved forward to the back door and assumed storming positions while Vakarian dropped behind the bar itself with his sniper rifle in hand. Wrex was on the opposite side by himself while Etel, followed by Williams and Alenko were in position on the left side. Nihlus moved forward slowly before overriding the door. As soon as it opened, Nihlus dropped to the side to give Vakarian a clean shot.

"Nothing," Vakarian said. "Nothing except-"

"_Don't move!"_ someone shouted, Etel, Wrex, and Nihlus coming out of cover with weapons pointed as two stockboys were pointing pistols at them and shaking visibly.

"Oh you have to be kidding me," Wrex complained.

"Stock workers," Vakarian chimed in. "No threat."

"Let's blast them and be…"

Etel leaned in and grabbed the krogan's shotgun, aiming it to the side so the blast would not kill them. The stockboys leapt backwards in terror, pistols clattering to the floor and Nihlus stepped in pointing his shotgun at them.

"Brave, standing up to six armed intruders who just took out a bar full of thugs," the turian Spectre said before lowering his shotgun. "But if you're smart, you'll leave and not look back. We're not after you, just Fist."

The two looked at each other. "Okay, yeah, we're gone. Never liked Fist anyways. C'mon."

"Could've just shot 'em," Wrex grumbled as he pushed Etel off, relatively gently for a krogan as the two walked by. "Would've been quicker."

"No need to add innocents to the body count," she shot back.

"Come on, Fist knows we're coming," Nihlus chided. They moved up, Etel and Wrex flanking Nihlus while the second team came in behind them watching their flank. They came into the last room, a meeting room with a wide circular table and two boxes in the back.

"What the - oh great!" the man ran to the back of the room and hit a console. "Let's see how you like bullets!"

"_Turrets_!" Nihlus, Wrex, and Etel shouted simultaneously as they sprinted to the other side of the room as Williams, Vakarian, and Alenko took cover behind the wall on their side.

"No good," Williams called as she glanced out and had to immediately pull back into cover as bullets whizzed past her. "They've got both arcs covered! Alenko, you're up."

"Tech?" he asked as the two switched positions and he was the one closest forward. Nihlus was closest on their side.

"On three," Nihlus said, "One… two… three!" Both leaned out at the same time and activated their omni-tools, striking the turrets opposite of them with overloads when a sudden flurry of rounds shot towards them. Vakarian quickly leaned up against the doorway while Williams threw herself to the other side. Etel looked over and saw more thugs coming in behind them.

"We've got company!"

"Back team, handle the reinforcements!" Nihlus called, "The rest of us will take out Fist!"

"Got it!" Alenko shouted as his kinetic barrier was dropped and a round went through his thigh. Williams sprayed a barrage down the doorway they had come from, taking out a mercenary while Vakarian shot another in the head. Alenko pushed himself back up as Nihlus used his jet boots to leap across the gap, bullets trailing into his kinetic barrier as Fist fired at them, then the Spectre leaned out and blasted the turret opposite of him with his shotgun.

"That's one down!" Nihlus called as the other turret recovered and fired at Etel. She leaned back into cover and looked to Wrex. He simply grinned.

"Draw its fire, I've got it," the gunfire from the other mercenaries was dying down as the krogan stepped around Etel and charged forward, a blue shimmering barrier protecting him.

"He's a biotic!?" Etel asked in surprise as Nihlus followed the krogan in, firing a shotgun blast towards Fist. Recovering, Etel followed and saw Fist about to shoot Wrex and fired, hitting the criminal in the hand and knocking his gun clear - no kinetic barrier left after Nihlus' shot. The turret stopped firing as Wrex blasted it with his oversized shotgun, his biotic barrier down and several marks on his armor as the overwatch team came in and all six walked towards Fist, guns raised as the criminal was on the ground.

Fist looked over his battered defenses, his broken, bleeding hand, and then at the six weapons aimed at him.

"For love of God please don't shoot me!" he shouted, raising his hands into the air, blood dripping from his shooting hand.

"You don't have a right to invoke His name," Etel snarled, stepping forward and keeping her pistol trained on his chest.

"Officer Vakarian, check the computer," Williams said, gesturing for Vakarian to move forward too. The turian quickly moved to the computer, activating his omni-tool and proceeding to hack the required access. Soon, he turned back to the team and nodded.

"Data is safe. The encryption still holds," he said. "Data seems to be untampered. We can confirm its content later. Huh, interesting."

"What?" Nihlus asked.

"The data was sent by a quarian. No name and the image is fuzzy, just a note that the Council needs to see it."

"We can confirm it when we're somewhere safer," Alenko commented as he lowered his pistol and checked his thigh wound.

"You got what you came for. Now it's time for mine," Wrex said, raising his shotgun at Fist.

"Please don't let him shoot me! I tell you whatever you want!" Fist pleaded, crawling backwards as he tried to put distance between him and the krogan, only to run up against the wall.

"Stand down, we are _not_ killing anyone who has surrendered," Williams said, stepping between the two.

"Why not? He tried to kill us," Wrex countered.

"Besides, he has worked with slavers. Seems good enough reason for me to kill him," Etel commented, looking over at Fist who was looking rather pale, backed against the wall like the scum he was.

"He surrendered. We are not killing defenseless people, even if they deserve it," Williams said, turning to Etel with a hard glare.

"Besides, he could be valuable witness to us. He could testify to-" Alenko began, before a loud bang interrupted him. Etel and Williams turned over to see the source of the shot, Wrex's smoking shotgun being holstered by the krogan casually as Fist now sported a large hole in his chest and the wall and floor around him was now covered with blood.

"I got paid to do a job," Wrex rumbled as he finished holstering his shotgun. "I don't leave jobs half-finished."

"And none of you tried to stop him?" Williams asked, turning to face Vakarian and Alenko. Vakarian merely shrugged, continuing to work on the datafile while Alenko raised his hand defensively and Nihlus shrugged.

"Hey, he caught me off-guard just like you!" Williams' mouth opened to retort to Alenko's comment, but she dropped the matter without a word.

"Well, the job is done, so I assume you're not going to shoot anyone else?" Vakarian asked Wrex, who nodded.

"Only if you shoot first," he said, looking at Williams who stared back for a moment, before grunting in disgust.

"There. Data is decrypted. It's a voice file, interestingly enough. From the data format, it seems like it was a transmission. Want to hear what we got?" Vakarian said, finishing his work.

"I'd like to know what Saren wanted to hide so badly," Etel said firmly.

"Well, that's what we came for it. Let's hear it," Williams nodded as she holstered Nihlus' Phaeston. Vakarian nodded and pressed a button on his omni-tool.

"_The attack on Eden Prime was successful,"_ Saren's voice came from the omni-tool. _"The information from the beacon is secure and we now have a lead on the Conduit."_

"_And are one step closer to the rebirth of the Reapers,"_ another voice, feminine, responded to Saren. The team looked at each other, no one showing any signs that they might recognize the voice. Etel felt like she recognized the term Reaper, but she could not place where she had heard it before.

"_Yes. With the aid of the *krzzzz* we *krzz* galaxy *krrz*"_ the file cut off, devolving into static.

"Well. That was something," Alenko said with a surprisingly neutral deadpan.

"I think that pretty much confirms that Saren was behind Eden Prime," Etel said as she holstered her pistol. "I mean, he did mention that the attack was successful and that the data was secured."

"He didn't say he worked with the geth or the Collectors, however," Nihlus countered, though there was little conviction in his voice, just sorrow. "He could be simply talking to someone in order to track the attackers."

"Really?" Williams asked as she folded her arms. "Then why did he say that the information from the beacon was secure, but didn't tell that to the Council? He did try to blame the loss of information on us, so him saving it would have made his point," she gestured at Vakarian's omni-tool. "Sorry Nihlus, but it's quite clear that Saren has gone rogue."

"...He is definitely hiding something," Nihlus conceded. "We need to get this information to Council."

As the group exited the bar, the were met with at least a dozen weapons trained at them by a large group of C-Sec officers, all looking rather agitated and some carrying riot shields. The entry way to Chora's Den was barricaded and there was no obvious way out and several searchlights were aimed at them, blinding Etel momentarily.

"_You are under arrest for assault on private property!"_ came a voice from behind the barricade, amplified by a loudspeaker. _"Surrender your weapons! You are surrounded and cannot escape, this is your only warning!"_ Nihlus simply walked forward and spoke up, getting everyone's attention as he did so.

"This is an official Spectre matter and these people are under my command," he shouted. "Send your people home, Executor! If you absolutely need to go by the book again, I am Spectre Nihlus Kryik."

"Kryik?" Executor Palin answered incredulously, stepping up from behind the barricade. "You Spectres are always trouble. No control whatsoever."

"Which is why not everyone gets to be one," Nihlus retorted, shrugging. He gestured the team to holster their weapons - Wrex and Williams had theirs in hand again - and then gestured for them to follow him as a path was made for them and they walked by. Etel could tell some of the officers were uneasy letting them walk away when Pallin spoke up again.

"You are not going anywhere, Vakarian!" the C-Sec Executor said, pointing at him. "Didn't I tell you to drop this matter?"

"I took him with me, because he is the C-Sec officer working on this case and thus, is rather important to have on the job," Nihlus explained with dull annoyance. Etel saw that Vakarian's face was in the turian version of a grimace and he looked like he was about to blow.

"As of now, he isn't. Vakarian, you are going to be suspended from the force for this while we discuss your actions."

"Don't bother," Vakarian spat back with enough bite that Etel almost jumped seeing the previously calm officer snap. "I resign. You can keep C-Sec and its endless bureaucracy. If we hadn't done this, we would have lost an important piece of evidence and Saren would never be brought to justice for his actions. I would have thought you'd be happy to see a Spectre reined in when he went too far, Executor. But you're angry because we followed the lead and it took a Spectre to bring the evidence against one to light?" He glared at Pallin before glancing to the nearby officers, several of whom were holding their guns tightly and one asari had a blue biotic aura around her hand. "You can have my gun right now," Vakarian unslung his sniper rifle without deploying it and tossed it to the closest C-Sec officer, the salarian catching it. "I'll send you the badge via the mail once I clear my desk."

"Vakarian, I suggest you think about this," Palin said, though his voice was no longer threatening, it sounded more concerned. And afraid.

"Well I have thought about it," he answered without missing a beat. "I've been thinking about it my entire time in C-Sec. Saleon, Fenir, Rikas, all criminals I could have caught and brought to justice. Yet, they all got away thanks to the stupid red tape you insist on."

"Those rules are there to protect the people, Vakarian. What if Fist was innocent? You just assaulted the place!" Pallin paused in horror, looking back at Chora's Den and the dead thugs visible through the doorway. "Wait... Where is Fist?"

"Dead. Like he deserves to be," Vakarian answered casually with a shrug as the rest of the team were watching, a few C-Sec officers watching Wrex closely but the krogan just folded his arms and watched the two turians going at it.

"You don't get to decide that," Palin shot back at Vakarian. "We are not judge, jury and executioner! Our job is to protect people and apprehend criminals, _after _we have proof of their guilt! It is the duty of the courts to pass judgment, not ours."

"And see them walk away, just because they know who to bribe?" Vakarian retorted. "No, not anymore. I want to help people, but I clearly can't do it in C-Sec. See you around, 'Executor' Pallin," Vakarian turned around walked away from the entire mess. Etel was staring wide eyed after him, she had never seen a turian lose his cool like that. The other C-Sec officers seemed unsure whenever or not to try to bring him back.

"Spirits," Pallin muttered in annoyance. "And before you go anywhere, Kryik…"

"I'll send you a copy of my report to the Council," Nihlus shot back as something beeped on his omni-tool and he checked it, nodding towards Vakarian as his was glowing too. "Otherwise, this information needs to be brought to the Council immediately. Feel free to verify it, though," he turned to the rest of the group. "Come on, let's not keep your ambassadors waiting."

The five walked off, with Wrex leaving them before they got on the elevator to the Presidium and Williams handed Nihlus his assault rifle back on the elevator ride up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

**Human Embassy**

As the Spectre, two candidates, and Alliance lieutenant entered the embassies, they were met by two angry ambassadors the moment the door was opened and the noise could be heard from the other side of the Presidium.

"WILLIAMS!" shouted Udina.

"SHEPARD!" shouted Leonidas.

"_DO WORDS POLITICAL SHITSTORM MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU!?"_ both bellowed at the same time, before glaring at each other in surprise before turning back to the actual source of their shared anger.

"A firefight in the wards?" Udina asked first.

"An all-out assault on Chora's Den?" Leonidas asked in turn.

"To be fair we were-" Williams began before being cut off.

"You are supposed to be one of our best, not some loose cannon disgrace like your grandfather!" Udina snarled without missing a beat.

"Fist was-" Shepard tried to interrupt before being cut off herself.

"No matter your feelings on Fist, Shepard, launching an all-out assault that got an entire C-Sec riot team deployed is not how you bring such lost sons to justice," Leonidas cut her off, pointing his finger accusingly.

"So much for diplomacy…" Alenko muttered under his breath.

"Hold your tongue, Lieutenant," Udina snarled, "before I have both of you court martialed and sent to Earth in irons!" Anderson simply facepalmed in the back of the embassy.

"_Ahem,_" Nihlus cut in sharply. "If you two ambassadors are done acting like pyjaks, how about you shut up and listen!" Both human diplomats glared at him coldly but did not say anything. Nihlus continued after a moment. "It was a Spectre operation, so it was all legal and considering that two of the people involved were my candidates, naturally they were involved. Also it was you, Ambassador Udina, who ordered Lieutenant Alenko to stay with these two," he paused a moment to let it sink in. "Besides, we got what we needed. The evidence on Saren."

Udina's jaw dropped as far as it could as Nihlus walked forward with his omni-tool and activated it, playing the evidence over again. By the time the file ended, Udina had recomposed himself.

"The Council will want to hear this. Send a copy to C-Sec, have them confirm it. With this, we can nail Saren," Udina said, nodding to himself. "I will contact the Council and tell them of this new development. Don't go far, this should not take longer than an hour," he moved to his desk and began to type furiously into his computer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Two Hours Later**

**Council Chambers**

The sound file devolved into static for the third time, but this time it was in front of the Council and a whole group of onlookers to the proceeding. Ambassador Udina was wearing one of the smuggest expressions Etel had seen since meeting Patrician Luft. And that bastard had thought he had enough charm to make Etel to fall for him, to use her to tie his bloodline into House Shepard. That ended worse than the original trial for Saren, but the smugness was palpable as Udina pointed towards the speakers that had played the file.

"There's your proof, Councilors. Saren was behind the attack on Eden Prime," Udina said, the smug grin never leaving his face as the Councilors quietly talked amongst themselves. Tevos finally looked over to Executor Palin, who was standing nearby, as they finished.

"Executor, can you confirm this evidence?" she asked.

"Yes, Councilor," Palin confirmed, stepping forward onto the central platform from where Etel, Williams, Alenko, and Anderson had been watching the proceedings. "The data has not been tampered with and voiceprint match confirmed it was Spectre Arterius. Furthermore, the data was submitted to the C-Sec hint line about half an hour before the original hearing. Once it was flagged by a VI and sent to my officer on the case, it was intercepted. Unfortunately, we could not interrogate the culprit, as he died... resisting arrest," Palin looked back pointedly at Etel and Williams, who both avoided his gaze. "Still, I believe this data is legitimate."

"Thank you, Executor," Sparatus said with a firm nod. "We agree that this new evidence casts a new light to the case."

"Why do I feel we are about to get a 'but'..." Williams whispered to Etel, who nodded. She had seen this kind of song and dance before in the Imperial Administration when something else had happened that complicated the ruling.

"But there has been a new development," Sparatus continued as if on cue. "Shortly after the hearing earlier today, Saren went dark and we cannot contact him."

"Of course he would. I assume this Council will do what it needs to be done to bring Saren into justice?" Udina asked, leaning forward and gripping the rails.

"This evidence does not yet prove that Saren has allied himself with the geth or Collectors, but it does prove that he was not truthful in his earlier claims," Tevos said, raising her hand to calm Udina. "Furthermore, I recognize the second voice, Matriarch Benezia. She is highly respected theologian, a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. The last we heard of her, she was planning an expedition to contact the Collectors and try to solve the enigma. Her ship was en route to the Terminus Systems before we lost contact with her. We assumed she was still searching them in Terminus."

_Brilliant,_ Etel thought with an undeniable sense of dread as she considered just how powerful an ally Saren now had.

"Still, action will be taken," Valern added. "Spectre Kryik, please step forward," Nihlus stepped forward, clearly expecting the request.

"Spectre Arterius has caused a serious concern for his actions. As such, this Council will require him to answer the questions it has," Tevos said.

"Your mission, as it stands, is to bring him here to be properly heard, and judged should the need arise," Sparatus continued "You have this Council's permission to whatever it takes to complete this mission."

"Do you understood your mission?" Valern asked finally.

"Yes, Councilors. I will not fail you," Nihlus said, as if he had heard this same litany many times before. Etel suspected that this was how the official orders were carried out, as it seemed like everyone involved knew the wording from their memory.

"Once Saren has been brought here, we will continue this trial. This Council will retire until then," Tevos said and the Councilors left.

"Well, that takes care of that," Williams said as Nihlus and Udina joined their group behind the main chamber. "What now?"

"Assuming the Alliance has not changed its stance," Nihlus began, looking at Udina and Anderson before turning back to the two women, "you two will follow me in this mission onboard the _Normandy_, and yes Lieutenant, you too," Alenko rubbed the back of his neck as the Spectre singled him out, though Nihlus quickly turned serious again as he continued. "Captain Anderson will remain in command of the ship, naturally, but it will be less hassle than requesting a new ship. Furthermore, the _Normandy's_ stealth capabilities could be useful. You never know what you might meet when you are ordered to bring in a Spectre."

"You are welcome to stay onboard the _Normandy_," Anderson said with a nod. "Just run your ideas through me, because Spectre or not, an Alliance vessel running around galaxy is bound to cause a few diplomatic incidents."

"Just keep them few and ideally far between, Captain," Udina said coldly. "I have enough issues to deal with without you threatening to start a war."

"Charming as always," the captain said nonchalantly.

"You should head back to the ship, Captain," Nihlus cut in, before two of them could get into an argument. "There are few people I will want to talk before we take off. Not to mention, it will take some time to compile the data and go over it, so we know where to go."

Anderson nodded. "Agreed. Williams, Alenko, I want you two to go get Jenkins; he and Gunnery Chief Taylor should be finished with their treatments at the C-Sec Academy's medbay. I'll head back to the _Normandy_ and start the pre-flight checklist," Alenko looked like he was about to say something before deciding to remain quiet.

"Understood, sir," Williams said, saluting Anderson and the two Alliance marines walked off.

"What about me?" Etel asked as she glanced at her omni-tool to check the time.

"You can head to the embassy or the _Normandy_ when you're ready," Nihlus said with a brief nod.

"Yes, you should head to the embassy," Udina said slowly. "A package arrived for you."

"Pack- oh. Right," she remembered the package her mother had sent and gave a small bow. "I'll take my leave, then."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

**C-Sec Academy - Officer Residence**

"C'mon, Garrus, you're taking this way too far."

"Damn it, Solana," Garrus shot back as he looked at his sister, who was sitting on his bed while he was busily cleaning his room of anything that he would need to return to C-Sec, "this isn't like it was this one time. How many criminals have escaped because of red tape? How many murders, rapes, thefts, and more happened because I couldn't take out a criminal when I had the chance?" He opened a drawer and found an old scan from his work chasing Doctor Saleon and he chucked it into the 'return' bag.

"And how many lives have you saved with this job?" she shot back. "You're throwing away a promising…"

"Promising?" He stopped and looked at his sister in surprise. "Come on, has dad been talking to you again trying to get you to drop the arena games and join C-Sec, hasn't he?"

"So what if he has?"

"He just doesn't get it, and I can't understand why," he said as he curled his fingers into a fist. "He's done hundreds of cases, why doesn't he see that all this red tape is slowing us down, letting the bad guys get away? That's _why_ the Council needs Spectres…"

"Oh no, you aren't bringing up dad canning the extra training again are you?" She put her hand on her face and shook her head slowly.

"It was just training, it wasn't guaranteeing me a chance like that ground team on Eden Prime. Besides, if Spectres were as bad as he said why would the Council keep using them?"

"You're just saying that because you got to _work_ with one," there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Solana said. Garrus turned towards it, expecting a fight before pausing and his mouth dropped open as he saw who had walked in.

"Spectre Kyrik!" he said in surprise, rising to full height and dropping the bag on the desk. "What can I do for you? Did the data help?"

"It helped," the turian Spectre said as he folded his arms and glanced at Solana. "Girlfriend from home?"

"Sister, actually," Solana chimed in. Nihlus paused a moment, mouth closed tightly before he coughed.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she said as she slid off the bed to stand.

"I take it the data worked?" Garrus asked.

"It did, the Council ordered me to bring Saren in," Nihlus explained, though Garrus could tell in Nihlus' body language that he was not happy about it. "I understand that you're going through with your resignation."

"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "Pallin and the endless bureaucracy has stopped me from doing my job for the last time. I'm just glad you were there, though. Made walking away a lot easier."

Nihlus stared him down. "You do realize that you were getting off lucky, Garrus Vakarian? That it could have been much worse?"

An aggravated sigh came from Solana. "What did you do this time?"

"My job," Garrus answered as he turned to her. "We stormed Chora's Den, took out his thugs, and took the data he stole from C-Sec back."

"You do realize that if I wasn't there, you wouldn't just be getting a probation, right?" Nihlus asked, "You'd at the very least have a dozen charges of murder and probably terrorism in the mix?"

"Terror-" Solana stumbled backwards, "Garrus,_ what the fuck did you do?!"_ she shouted as she stared at him in horror.

"Relax, there were no civilian casualties, we hit after hours. Besides, they shot at us first," he turned to Nihlus. "And yes, I understand that. What I don't understand is why Pallin has a pole up his ass about the fact we just nailed a Spectre - the exact kind of people he hates. The kind of people my father hates. If anything, he should be breaking out the horosk and passing the glasses."

Nihlus shook his head. "Pallin has the pole wedged further up his ass then most, but he's simply trying to do his job and he does his by the book. You, however, refuse to do that. Why?"

"Because I want justice," he answered without missing a beat. "Because I want to find the people who hurt the innocent and stop them. I joined C-Sec to do that, to make a difference," he glanced to Solana and shrugged. "And yeah, to try and make my father proud as well. But it seems that every time I try to stop some madman, the rules always get in the way and bad men walk free after they've painted their faces with innocent blood."

"So, you want to try and work without the rules in the way?"

"I'm fine with rules," he added, wondering where the Spectre was going with this, "up until the point where someone gets hurt because they stopped me from doing what I had to do to stop a criminal."

The Spectre nodded. "I'm after Saren, and both the Systems Alliance and Star Empire seem to agree he is with the geth and Collectors."

"Damn, the soft skins actually agreed on something?" Solana said in surprise. "I thought Imps and Alliance couldn't get along unless one side converted the other or it involved aggressive diplomacy."

"But," Garrus cut in as he connected the implications, "you need every gun you can get. And you're here to ask me if I would come along."

"Correct," Nihlus said. "You have an unnaturally good talent with a sniper rifle. We could use a marksman like yourself on this mission."

"Dad's so going to be pissed," Solana said, "You're dropping C-Sec to go with a Spectre, Garrus?"

"In a heartbeat," he said. "I tried to do it his way - C-Sec's way, and all that I've managed to do is get chewed out for trying to do my damn job. Maybe this time, I can deal with the problem instead of just sitting back because they want the hardcopy in triplicate while people get hurt. Maybe I can actually deal with a threat my way, for once."

"You won't be given free reign," Nihlus cut in quickly, "and if your way means civilian casualties I doubt that the Alliance crew and the Knight Hospitaller that you'll be working with would approve."

Garrus paused, jaw dropping open as he realized what he just implied and nodded. "I… I understand. But yes, I'm with you. I just need to finish gathering up anything I need to return to C-Sec, then I'll be ready."

The Spectre nodded and activated his omni-tool. Garrus' beeped as it received data. "Good. Here's the docking bay for the ship and the access you'll need to enter the docking station now that your C-Sec access is gone. It won't get you onto the ship itself, so be sure to identify yourself at the airlock. The ship is leaving in a few hours to start the search. If you have second thoughts, I included a contact number with the access."

He nodded. "Thank you. I won't let you down."

"Of that I hold no doubts, Vakarian," he turned, nodding to Solana briefly, then left.

"You're crazy, Garrus," Solana said as soon as Nihlus left. "Running off with a Spectre? Dad's going to have a heart attack. And what about mom? She hasn't been doing well either…"

"Dad'll have to deal with it," he bit back as he resumed searching through his room. "And mom's tough - if she can handle raising both of us, she knows that there's a time when the two of us need to go find our own road. I guess mine just came sooner."

Solana sighed and walked out of the room. Garrus paused, about to follow her before shaking his head. She could be stubborn like that, and he had to get this cleaned out first. _A beer can?_ He thought with a frown as he found it under his bed before remembering. The attempted robbery of the Flux club by a pair of dirt cheap volus and the beggar they pulled off the streets. He kept poking through, eventually filling the bag and tying it. _Chellick can sort through this shit,_ he thought as he tied the bag together and left it on the floor. He could drop it off when he left.

The door opened again as he started packing his personal belongings and saw Solana, holding her M-92 Mantis sniper rifle. "Solana?" he asked in confusion.

"Here," she said as she put the undeployed gun on the bed, "You'll need this. I'll deal with the bureaucracy."

"Wait a minute, you're giving me your sniper rifle? But don't you have a match tonight?" Garrus asked, nodding towards a calendar that had the match marked. "I'll probably be outfitted with one once I'm onboard anyways."

"I've got a spare," she answered with a shrug. "Besides, all I'm doing is shooting up holographic rachni and other teams. You're going to be out there fighting actual geth and actual aliens, and those stupid Avenger sniper rifles from Hahne-Kedar that the Alliance insists on using aren't worth the shit they put down the plumbing after eating our food."

"Eloquently put," Garrus said in amusement as he picked it up and deployed it, looking down the scope and nodding. "Thanks, Solana. Really. I know you don't agree but… I need to do this. I need to try and be my own person instead of the person that dad wants me to be."

"Just come back alive, alright?" Solana said, putting her hand on Garrus' shoulder.

"I will."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**C-Sec Academy Infirmary**

"Commander!" Jenkins said as he snapped to attention.

"At ease, Jenkins," Ashley said as she walked into the ward that he and Jacob Taylor were sharing. "We're getting ready to go and Anderson wants you back on the ship ASAP. Lieutenant Alenko's talking with the doctor now to check you out. Go talk to him."

"Yes ma'am!" Jenkins grabbed the few items he had at his bedside and walked out. Before he left, she put a hand out to stop him.

"Also, Jenkins; how's your family?"

"Perfectly fine, they weren't in the areas hit," the young soldier paused a moment. "Thanks for asking, ma'am."

"No problem," she let go and he left. As soon as the door shut again, Taylor chuckled from the bed he was still on.

"He's eager," the biotic said with a smirk. "Normally you'd expect that kind of eagerness to be dead by dinner."

Ashley walked over, leaning on the wall opposite of him. "Weren't we all that eager once?"

"True," he admitted with a nod. "So, you got Saren? There's rumors swirling around that the first trial was not as solid as believed."

"Probably classified," Ashley admitted. "How about you? Did anyone from your unit survive?"

Taylor's pause was all she needed to see.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked down. "If we could have been there sooner…"

"You would have been, I know, it's just… you don't expect that, you know? To be the only survivor from your unit? That just a few hours before you were all talking with each other?"

She nodded. "I honestly don't know what I'd do if I was in your situation. The only one left?" She tried to imagine herself in that situation, but just could not imagine the kind of trauma she would be dealing with. She lost men before, but a whole unit and being the only one left?

"Going by how you handled yourself down there," he said with a slight grin, "I'd say you'd keep going until you joined them. Hell, I would have if you didn't show up."

"I'm sure you'd of done just fine, Chief Taylor. You handled yourself better than most. Maybe even better than I would have in your position."

"Guess we should be glad the galaxy will never know, because it means you don't have to lose your whole unit too."

"Humor already?" she asked in surprise.

"_Humor is a great coping mechanism, but keep it to the appropriate time._"

"Admiral Hackett's Guide to First Contact?" she asked, smirking as she remembered the short list that he had posted after being asked for the millionth time what it was like to be the first human - from Earth, not the Empire - to make proper diplomatic contact with aliens.

"Yeah. It's a guide to more than that, though," he shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, what should I be doing? Being a psychological wreck? I'm going to be undergoing counseling for a while, they want to make sure my head's on straight before sending me back out, but… I dunno. I feel like we were trained to be better than that. To accept what happened, to mourn… but move on and do better from what we were lucky enough to learn."

She nodded slowly. "Half of boot camp is basically getting us to avoid shutting down when we lose friends and getting us into the mindset of war."

"More or less, though nothing really prepares you for that," he said with a shrug before looking at her directly. "Look, I don't know where you'll end up going from here, but be careful, Commander. You're going to be in the thick of it while I get this surprisingly comfortable billet back here on the Citadel. And well, the Alliance is going to need every good soldier it can get."

"Thanks, and you be careful too, Gunnery Chief."

Taylor smirked and gave her a brief salute. "Yes ma'am."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**About a half hour later**

**Citadel Docking Bay 442, Outside the **_**Normandy**_

"It's nice to be on dry land, but nothing beats the familiarity of the ship," Ashley said as she, Kaidan and Jenkins returned to the _Normandy_. Shepard had already arrived and stowed her extra tabards away. Nihlus had not arrived yet.

"Commander?" Joker said as she was about to turn towards the back of the ship. "There's a krogan approaching the airlock. You didn't bring back a stray, did you?"

"A krogan?" Ashley asked, looking over two marines. Shepard was also joining them, having noticed their return. "Let's see what we've got on our hands. I'd rather deal with him outside the ship than inside it."

After clearing the airlock, Ashley recognized the krogan as Wrex. He walked up to them and handed a credit chit to her.

"Half of the pay," he rumbled. "I don't like being in debt and you helped me. Fair's fair."

"We can't take this," Ashley protested as she dropped the chit. Blood money was not something she intended to take.

"Well, it's yours now. Throw it away or spend it on some stud. Not my problem," Wrex said, giving a short, grunting laugh. The elevator opened again and the group turned around to see who the new arrivals were. Nihlus and Vakarian stepped out, with Vakarian carrying a large backpack that looked like luggage.

"Got us a sniper for the team," Nihlus explained.

"Is it wise to bring more people onboard?" Ashley asked, eyeing Vakarian.

"As a Spectre, you better get used to working with all kinds of people," Nihlus responded. "Besides, like I said earlier, you never know with a Spectre. Saren might turn himself in... or we might need to fight through a krogan horde. Also, I cleared it with Anderson already. He agreed with me."

"Well, if the captain has greenlighted it, then it's okay," Ashley said with a shrug before looking to the other turian. "Welcome aboard, Vakarian."

"Garrus will do, Commander," Garrus said. Ashley nodded.

"So, you're going after Saren?" Wrex asked. "Got room for a krogan?"

"What?" Ashley turned to face the krogan, wondering if she heard him right.

"You need something to offset the surplus of turians on your ship," Wrex said with a wide grin. Ashley noted that it showed way too many teeth. "Since you are not accepting the credits, I might pay with services. Not to mention, it sounds like you people are going to interesting places."

"Um..." Ashley said, taken back by sudden offer of help.

"Well, having a living tank in the team would certainly help," Shepard chimed in. "I have fought against krogan before. Tough bastards to kill," she paused before turning back to Wrex. "No offense."

"Heh, I'll take that as a compliment."

"What about the blood rage?" Nihlus asked, tilting his head as he looked the krogan over.

"It's a tool, something to channel. It should never control you," Wrex answered, shaking his head. "Too many kids think it's something to be proud of, losing your control."

"An old one, I see. Battlemaster?"

"One of the few," he said as his hand glowed blue with biotic energy and he telekinetically lifted the credit chit that Ashley had dropped, pocketing it.

"Well, as long as he can keep the blood rage under control, he will be valuable asset to us," Nihlus nodded to himself.

"I need to run it through Captain Anderson, but I can see the logic there," Ashey said, nodding to Shepard. "Just don't stick your head anywhere classified, alright?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

"Nice place," Wrex said as he looked around the engineering bay and put his bag by the locker he had been assigned. "'Course, your sleeping pods are probably too small, so I'll just get comfortable here."

"Just say out of the drive core," Williams chimed in. "That's off limits."

Etel frowned as she saw the Alliance commander pointedly looking towards her, Garrus, and Wrex. Garrus simply shrugged. "Not a problem."

Etel nodded. "I doubt I need to go back there anyways."

"Hmpf," Wrex grunted as he walked up to Williams, standing over her and staring her down. She flinched briefly before digging her heels in and holding her ground. "You want to say that again?" the krogan asked. Williams refused to move, though Etel was already readying her biotics and she saw Lieutenant Alenko moving to the side to have a clear shot at Wrex, his hand near his omni-tool.

"Just stay out of the drive core," Williams repeated coldly. "It's classified and you have no business there anyways since you're not an engineer."

_Williams you crazy woman, that's a krogan in close quarters!_ Etel wanted to scream as she knew exactly what a krogan - especially a krogan _Battlemaster_ \- could do. The entire engineering bay was silent as a tomb as the N6 and Battlemaster stared each other down. Pins could drop and it would sound like the impact of a Pericles artillery battery and Etel's heartbeat was racing as she knew what bloodshed could ensue if this became violent.

Then it happened.

Wrex broke into a wide grin and began to laugh. "Hahaha! You've got a quad, Williams. Yeah, I'll stay out of the drive core. Unless there's ryncol there, I've got no reason to," the krogan took a few steps backwards before turning away towards where he had dropped his pack and began to unpack his own gear, most of the space taken by weapons far too large for humans to use.

Etel, Alenko, Garrus, and the quartermaster nearby all exhaled loudly as Williams turned and looked at them.

"That was crazy, Ash," Alenko said as he shook his head.

"It was," Wrex chimed in as he was unpacking an unusually large sleeping bag and oversized pillow, "but the good kind of crazy."

Etel simply shook her head when they were interrupted.

"_Sir Shepard, there's a call for you. It's waiting for you in the comm room,"_ Joker's voice sounded through the intercom. Etel stopped for a moment, before taking the elevator up and walking to the comm room. Using her omni-tool to accept the call, a male quarian materialized in an orange tinted hologram.

"_Sir Shepard, it's good to see you,"_ the quarian said.

"Etel will do just fine, Rael. What's wrong? You don't normally call me like this, unless it's Tali," Etel said as she frowned.

"_It_ is _Tali this time. I can't contact her. The last time she spoke to me she was on at the colony of New Syracusae, doing something she refused to talk about. It's that damn pilgrimage of hers," _Rael explained, sounding agitated.

"Wait, I thought that quarians in the Empire more or less abandoned that tradition?" Etel asked, frowning in confusion as she recalled what she had been told.

"_Normally, yes, but I wanted to teach my daughter about her origins. Then she decided she wants to head out on a pilgrimage to 'see the galaxy and learn about it'. Now I can't contact her. She was supposed to call me a few days ago._"

"That is unusual for her..." Etel muttered, rubbing her chin.

"_Exactly. So, remember that favor you own me? I am cashing in,"_ Rael continued, _"Could you please swing by there to find her and make sure she is okay?"_

"I am on a mission at the moment..." Etel began.

"_You swore it by your honor,"_ Rael countered before she could finish.

"You're not playing fair, Rael," Etel said, shaking her head, "but you are also right. You pulled me out of a big mess. I owe you one. I'll try to convince the captain to make a short detour through New Syracusae. If that fails, I can ask the other knights in the Order to do me a favor."

"_Thank you. I'm worried, I took her to the Empire to give her a better life than what the Fleet could offer. I don't want her to get hurt because of that,"_ Rael said, his shoulders slumping.

"Don't worry Rael. Tali's a strong girl, she can take care of herself. Most likely she is just having fun with friends, or met some handsome quarian boy..." Etel said, fighting to suppress a smile.

"_NO! Absolutely not! I forbid it! She is too young!"_ Rael began immediately, before noticing that Etel had lost her fight and was openly smiling at this point. _"Oh, ha ha ha,"_ he dryly retorted. _"And the Alliance says you nobles have no sense of humor."_

"Well, it did make you livelier," Etel said, "but don't worry. I'll take care of it and call you back later. Say hello to my father if you see him."

"_I will, and thank you,"_ Rael said before the connection was cut. Now all Etel had to do was talk Anderson and Nihlus into a detour. That would be relatively easy, right? After all, they had no leads right now and the data packet did come from a quarian…

… and after sharing her situation to Captain Anderson several minutes later in his quarters, with Nihlus and Williams also present, she quickly realized that such optimism was often unfounded.

"No, we can't afford that detour," Anderson said as he shook his head. "You'll have to call your friends from the Hospitallers; we have to keep our focus on the mission."

"Captain," Williams chimed in as she folded her arms, "wasn't the data sent by a quarian? If she dropped off the radar about the same time the data got sent, maybe there's a connection," Etel raised an eyebrow at Williams briefly before turning back to Nihlus and Anderson.

"Or it's a coincidence," Nihlus answered as he folded his arms. "I understand you want to uphold a promise, Sir Shepard, but we have a mission to do."

"But do we have any leads for the mission?" Etel asked, "The data is still compiling and as you said it would take time. We could do this while it's processing."

"Perhaps. Where is New Syracusae anyways?" Anderson asked. Etel activated her omni-tool and showed him the location in the Attican Traverse. "Hmm. Deep in Imperial space from where we are, so that's a large headache for customs."

"Spectre clearance," Nihlus answered with a shrug. "Besides, you're traveling with a Knight Hospitaller and it's to help her."

"I thought you were opposed to the detour, Nihlus," Anderson said, raising an eyebrow.

"I still am, Captain, just pointing out that we could theoretically do it."

"But you don't want us to," Etel said as she sighed.

"No. We have a mission ahead and we need to focus on that," the turian shook his head. "If we stop to help with every little thing, we will never catch up with Saren."

"I agree," Williams cut in, "we should focus on the mission… but what do we have right now? We have no leads and your VI is going to be data mining for at least another day, if not longer," she paused and looked at Etel. "Say, why is this Rael'Zorah's daughter so far from home anyways? She sounds kinda young from how the situation was described."

"She's just over twenty. She has grown more interested in the customs of her people and recently embarked on her own version of their Pilgrimage, much to her father's chagrin," Etel said, before remembering something. "She's a technological savant, too, give her some omni-gel and a sprinkle of eezo and she'll modify a fuel canister to make precision jumps."

"That's a little hard to believe," Nihlus said dryly.

"Sorry, bit hyperbolic there, but she's a very good machinist and her father trained her well. She might be able to help us crack any geth data we find."

Williams nodded. "You know Captain, if we're going to be fighting geth, having another tech on our side might be useful. We've already got three, but we don't have any true tech specialists who are exclusively trained in that field. No offense."

"None taken," Nihlus admitted with a shrug.

"Not to mention, if I can call her while we are on route, we can drop the matter and if it's nothing, well, we lost nothing, right? Best case, we get us a quarian tech wizard, worst case, we spend time we would have spent waiting around," Etel said.

"I take it you agree with Sir Shepard here?" Anderson asked.

Williams turned to look at Etel before nodding. "Yes, I do," Etel raised an eyebrow in surprise. After their arguments earlier she hardly expected to see her rising to her defense…

"Well, I'm not entirely convinced of this myself, but you are right. It is time we would otherwise spend doing little for the mission," Anderson finally said. "I still think this is a wild goose chase, but if you can contact your friend sooner and get her to join us, then maybe it'll be worth the fuel."

"New Syracusae is not far from the Relays, you won't need too much more fuel besides standard cluster patrol usage," Etel added as she recalled what she had been told about non-relay trips while on the _COS Judgment._

"It might be a good time to test the _Normandy_ on a more extended trip as well, instead of just hugging the Relays where subspace covers most of it," Williams cut in. "I mean, I'm not saying infiltrate the Empire, just see how it can handle for longer trips without stopping at an Alliance depot every other jump."

"Hmmm," Anderson nodded. "Very well, I'll authorize the mission."

"You don't sound fully behind this," Nihlus said as he unfolded his arms.

"I'm not, but their logic is sound. And well, I would like to see how the _Normandy_ runs long distance while we're still in somewhat friendly space."

Nihlus nodded. "Very well. However, if the data crunch takes less time than expected…"

"I'll be happy to adjust," Anderson finished with a nod. "Well, off you go then. I will tell Joker to plot a course. Shepard, you should also give a short heads up to the Empire. Spectre on board or not, a favor for an Imperial or not, this is still an Alliance vessel. If we cross the border without a warning, it _will_ cause a political incident. I'd rather not have Udina calling me and chewing me out for that."

Etel bowed quickly, while Williams saluted, and the two of them left the captain's cabin.

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**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_You may have noticed that when in Shepard's perspective, we are using her first name. This is mainly because it feels more sensible that she would go by her first name as the familiar instead of her last name - especially given the fact that she's part of a noble house and not even the one who is supposed to be in charge eventually. Likewise, Ashley and Kaidan go by their last names from Shepard's perspective as they are still relatively new to each other._

_This chapter also leads us to the first major deviation of plot progression besides the inclusion of the Collectors at Eden Prime or the survival of Nihlus and Jenkins. Rather than be on the Citadel, Tali is elsewhere. The content of the next chapter will therefore more or less be the first major original part of this fanfic. To those of you who have been waiting patiently for us to actually deviate properly instead of what could easily be an 'everything goes right' rundown, we thank you for your patience._

_We would also like to thank Sundanze, The Poarter, Hattu, and ww1990ww for their reviews._

_Given the major deviation with Tali, the Codex entries are focused on the quarians. We also included a bit on the Empire's military gimmick when compared to the salarian STG, asari commandos, or turian heavy fleets._

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**Codex: Quarians**

Driven from their home system by the geth nearly three centuries ago, most quarians now live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a flotilla of fifty thousand vessels ranging in size from passenger shuttles to mobile space stations.

Home to seventeen million quarians, the flotilla understandably has scarce resources. Because of this, each quarian must go on a rite of passage known as the Pilgrimage when they come of age. They leave the fleet and only return once they have found something of value they can bring back to their people.

Other species tend to look down on the quarians for creating the geth and for the negative impact their fleet has when it enters a system. However, the Star Empire has a notable quarian minority, enjoying a legal status as citizens. These quarians have abandoned many of the quarian's traditions in order to better fit in the Empire's society and are known as "The Forsaken" by the Migrant Fleet, with views varying from outright disgust to a grudging understanding.

As of recently, the Council has approached the Migrant Fleet for possible colonization projects near the Terminus Systems, but the talks have not yet proceeded to point where concrete results could be achieved.

**Codex: Quarians - The Forsaken**

The Empire's official stance is that the quarians did indeed commit a sin by "playing God" by creating the geth, but see this as an opportunity to guide quarians to God's grace, through conversion and offering medical and legal aid as well as citizenship. Although many quarians reject the conversion, finding the Empire's policy as patronizing, some do indeed choose the live in the Empire in hopes of a better life.

These quarians who have accepted the Empire's offer of citizenship in exchange for nominal conversion are known as the Forsaken by quarians onboard the Migrant Fleet. The term derives from a habit of many such quarians abandoning traditions, which are often held as sacred within the fleet. These traditions include Pilgrimage or reverence to their ancestors. Many of the Forsaken have also abandoned the dream of retaking the ancient quarian homeworld of Rannoch.

Imperial converts enjoy full legal status and protection within the Empire, as well as receiving specialized medical care. While the Forsaken are generally looked down by the Migrant Fleet, many quarians on their Pilgrimage gravitate towards the Empire, due to ready support system by the Forsaken and easier job opportunities.

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces - Experimental Weaponry**

The Empire has begun experimenting with new GARDIAN systems lately, two significant designs being within public knowledge. The first and most widely accepted design is the Paladin Conqueror, a variant of the Conqueror Tank which has sacrificed its kinetic barriers in favor of a GARDIAN system. The design is still experimental, but the GARDIAN lasers have proven to be potentially effective pairing with its armor, the former stopping heavy weapons fire while the latter shrugs off small arms. However, it is noted to be weak against rapid fire weapons of enough power to threaten the armor as well as fast moving projectiles that the onboard VI cannot track.

The second design is more controversial due to its expense and highly experimental nature. The Archimedes Mobile Laser System (affectionately known as "Archimedes' death ray") is a GARDIAN system on a ground chassis designed to put out an offensive laser attack. However, the power and heat required and resulting from the laser usage means it has a very low rate of fire, when it does not simply fail to fire. This, along with the significant material investment, means that the Empire is loathe to use them in battle. As General Adrien Victus said after a war game with the Star Empire; _"If they pull out an Archimedes, you're either hitting a place that's developing the system or you're about to see a heat sink hurled your way."_

Both of these designs have been met with skepticism from their counterparts in the turian, asari, and salarian militaries due to the inherent instability of the GARDIAN systems in comparison to standard mass accelerators and kinetic barriers. However, if successful it is predicted that others may adopt the concepts and look into integrating it into their own militaries.

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_This is an extra bit; before we did revisions, we ran into a problem of terrible reviews and posted this at the top of the chapter as a response. However, while it has calmed down now, we are leaving this here as it is something to keep in mind._

xxxxxx

_My co-authors and I apologize for this in front of the story this chapter, but it needs to be said. Some reviews have been… questionable, primarily focusing on bashing religion, as in those of real life and not just the __fictional__ Faith of Abraham created for the Star Empire. It needs to be noted that this fanfic is __**absolutely **_**NOT**_ intended to be a statement on religion or its place in the world. This fanfic was written to explore an alternate scenario of the Mass Effect universe and most importantly, to be an enjoyable read. We are not here to argue about the evils of religion. We are not here to argue about why religion should be in every facet of life. We are not here to run the Systems Alliance over with our own faction, and likewise we are not here for the Empire to be steamrolled by the Alliance. As such, the views of characters within this story should be taken as those of the character in question and not our own._

_Since some have missed it, the Star Empire is __**descended**__ from both crusaders and those local to Jerusalem in 1192, and have undergone social change since then over a one thousand year period. Yes, they maintain a feudal hierarchy, but it is significantly different and more streamlined than that used in real life. If anything, it is closer to the Turian Hierarchy's tier system than real life feudalism. The Empire is not just the people of the Crusades era yanked into the far future, but their descendants who have had to adjust to fit in. If they were as bad as some reviewers claimed they are, they would not be a member of the Citadel in good standing but a pariah state like the batarians - the Citadel is rather socially liberal, after all, even if slow to change._

_It should be rather telling that the Star Empire's Spectre candidate is a woman who is not pretending to be a male. So please, stop harping on the evils of religion or how the SE is just a complete set of nutjobs until you actually see the Empire and not just preconceptions. The Empire has its problems, but so does the Systems Alliance, and the Turian Hierarchy, and the Salarian Union, and the Vol Protectorate, and the Asari Republics, and the Migrant Fleet, and the Batarian Hegemony, and well… just about any government, real or fictional._

_So please, if you intend to leave a review please do not limit it to the fare of harping on how religion is bad and the SE are crazy by default. We are perfectly fine with constructive criticism - in fact, we want that. Our original idea for the Empire's military doctrine, the roman-like tactics mentioned in the Codex Entries following the last chapter, was something we changed when we were told the doctrine would not work. We pulled that diamond out of the rough of a shitstorm and changed the Empire's tactical shtick appropriately to what it now actually uses. But we are not interested in simple bashing and screaming. So please, if you have criticism please leave it, but if your comment can be summed up as "religion sucks", it might better to keep it to yourself._


	7. Priority: New Syracusae

As they left the captain's cabin, Etel turned to Williams.

"Thank you, for siding with me in there. I know we have our differences but... I appreciate this," she said.

"No need to thank me. I know how important family is to people. I still keep regular contact with my own and if any of my family disappeared... I would want them to be found," Williams said, waving her hand as if to dismiss the matter. "Still, how do you know this Rael'Zorah?"

"It's a long story, one I would rather not talk about in detail. I was young, around fifteen years old, and I bit off more than I could chew," she explained, shaking her head. "Rael helped me big time and I have been in his debt ever since. My father hired him, as a thanks, to work with the terraforming process. We are actually ahead of schedule thanks to his improvements to VI's."

Williams nodded. "I see. You two know each other well? I mean, I am not that familiar with the system, but... I don't think just anyone can meet a noble on short notice."

"Yes. Normally it takes longer, you have go through the court first, but I have been close friends with Rael ever since I knew him. Did you know he used to be an admiral in the Migrant Fleet?" Etel said, turning to Williams whose eyes went wide at the news. "Yeah, surprised me too when he finally told me. Joined the Empire to give his daughter a better life than what the Migrant Fleet could offer."

"I see... What about your family?"

"My family... well, we are nobles. We have our duties. Leto is studying so he can succeed father and enjoying the freedom he has until then. Basil and Junior, well, they are running their own things though if something happens to Leto, they might end up succeeding my father," she explained, shrugging her shoulders. "I was the fourth child so, there was no clear course for me. Either get married off to some nobleman for the sake of politics or build a career of my own, maybe even managing to forge a new house as an offshoot of my own if I did well enough," she curled her lip briefly, considering the sheer difficulty of that option. "Marriage didn't sound inviting, though not for lack of my mom trying to find someone, so I ended up in Hospitallers. I wanted to help people, and breaking slavers was as a good way to do so as any. Besides," she held up her hand and created a small biotic barrier around it to make her point, "I've got this, and if I went and got married I probably wouldn't be using my full potential."

"If you don't mind me saying so, your mother doesn't sound very nice," Williams said, before wincing as she realized what she had just said.

"Hm?" Etel cocked her head in confusion. "She wants me to have a good life, a place where I belong. I can't see how that's not being nice. I mean, it's better than just leaving me to fend for myself."

"Getting married to seal some political alliance?"

"Well, I could be useful in securing an alliance for my House, blood ties are important," Etel said, before realizing what Williams meant. "Oh no, I would not be _forced_ into marriage. For God's sake, this isn't the 12th century. Mom would simply bring the suitors in, I talk with them, and if they sound nice maybe meet them some more and with a little luck it'll help seal a deal. Even then, I would not be told who to marry. I met few a nice guys, but in the end..." she trailed off.

"Decided you'd rather fight then put on the white dress?" Williams supplied.

"Yeah," Etel shrugged. "I mean, I'm not opposed to getting married if I find the right person, but I'd rather make my own path instead of just having to find a guy, you know?"

"I think I know what you mean," she said as they were about to walk up to the CIC. Williams glanced back as Nihlus walked out of the captain's quarters and she curled her lip. "Excuse me, I need to talk to Anderson about something."

Etel paused, then nodded. "Go ahead."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Captain, I need to ask you something. About something Harkin said."

Anderson paused, frowning as he looked at her. "I know that tone. He said something that's eating away at you, isn't he?"

"It is," she admitted. "I mean, I know it's probably bullshit, but it just… it just fits somehow."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the Empire was trying to get my grandfather to defect, and that he blackmailed the Alliance into not following through the charges against him. Bullshit, I know, but… we both know how politics works. He should have been scapegoated," she had heard that too many times in school. '_Your grandfather should have been discharged_' was probably one of the nicer things said to her then.

Anderson nodded slowly, a low 'mmmm' coming from him as he sat down on his bed and leaned back thoughtfully. "Have a seat," he said as he gestured to the chair at his computer. She took the seat.

"I'd be lying if I said the Empire didn't try to talk your grandfather into immigrating - they never phrased it like defection. It would only be defection if he gave them classified information which they were not asking for upfront, though I'm sure they would have pressed for any information he had," he shrugged. "How much did Harkin say they offered?"

"Said that they were more or less offering a full noble title," she grit her teeth. "He's telling the truth about that, isn't he?"

"The Empire made a very big offer, and I bet Shepard has confused you as being a noble of some sorts because of your grandfather."

"To be fair, she was curious if you were too, given the whole 'sir' thing," the two chuckled briefly at the thought before taking deep breaths and returning to a more sober tone.

"Well, you can't blame her for culture shock. But Harkin was more or less telling the truth up until the point he said that he blackmailed the Alliance brass. As far as I can tell, he never told anyone except maybe your parents about it, so anything I can share is secondhand knowledge and my thoughts," he paused a moment to let it sink into her. "You were born in 2056, right? So, you would have just been a baby. I can't say for certain, but my guess is that by the time you would have been old enough to understand, there was no point. Maybe they tried to bury it."

"So what, you're saying Harkin was right about my family?"

"Absolutely not!" Anderson leaned forward with a hard look on his face. "Harkin's a menace. I'm amazed - and proud - that you didn't put him in the hospital for that bullshit. If anything, it was a sign of how loyal your family is considering the shit you still get from those idiots in mansions voting on expenditure bills before having a night at the opera," he paused, glancing towards the door briefly before shaking his head and turning back to her. "Your grandfather didn't have to blackmail the Alliance at all - high command recognized the major threat of them being stupid about Shanxi and clamped down on the charges themselves without your grandfather ever having to threaten them with defection or anything like that."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ashley asked, unable to avoid a sense of betrayal even though she knew better. "I mean, don't I have a right to know?"

"You did," Anderson admitted, audibly disappointed, "but it never came up and if your family didn't tell you, I didn't feel it was my place to do so since I don't know the whole story. You'll have to ask your mother if you really want the details."

Ashley nodded slowly. "I understand. Still, thank you for explaining it. I shouldn't have trusted Fist so far."

"Your gut instinct about it was good, though," he pointed out as he looked towards the door. "Sometimes the most painful way to hurt someone is with the truth. By the sounds of it, Harkin tried to do just that but jumped the gun a bit too far and made things up to try and make it hurt more. The question is, what're you going to do with this knowledge?" The cabin was silent for a few moments before Anderson rose. "We've got duties to get back to, and this goose chase that you talked us into with Shepard. You better get ready for it. Take eight hours as well, Joker says we won't be in Imperial territory for at least that long."

"Yes sir," Ashley rose and saluted before being dismissed.

As she reached the door, Anderson said one more thing. "And by the way, I understand you're restricting access that our two new recruits have?"

"Just to engineering and anywhere else you deem classified," she said, turning around. "I'd say no CIC, but they need to go through that. They don't need to go into the drive core."

Anderson nodded slowly. "I'll support you on this, but be diplomatic about it. Nothing more, Williams."

She saluted again and walked out. She needed some sleep anyways after all the running around they had done since landing on the Citadel. She walked out and found Kaidan and Jenkins leaning against the walls of the mess hall, talking over something.

"So Jenkins, I hear you have a project in mind?" Kaidan asked curiously.

"Yeah," the younger marine said with a wide grin, "I know, it probably won't be useful in a fight, but we got the tech to make it work."

"You talking about that nerdy hi-ex gun?" Ashley asked as she walked by. She knew about it; Jenkins had been talking to her about the feasibility of it.

"Pretty much," Jenkins admitted. "I mean, come on, we've got an Empire out here…"

Kaidan shook his head. "Any similarities are superficial at best. Besides, cool as it would be I'm not sure we should be spending too much time at it," Despite what he said, it was clear he otherwise liked the idea.

"I dunno," Ashley said slowly, "I mean, I wouldn't do it for the reasons you're doing it Richard, but if we can get it to work maybe it'll be a nice surprise. I'm just concerned about the heat - high ex is labelled as increasing the heat output by 500%. With the right mods the ammo can essentially turn a sniper rifle into a miniature rocket launcher, but you have to replace the internals often."

"I take it you're helping him with it?" Kaidan asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Mostly because I'm better at modding than he is and it's a pretty ambitious project," she explained. Jenkins had sent her a note on the general idea earlier. "But I'm only handling the internals, if he wants to dress it up for a con that's all him," she gave him a pointed glare and the other marine simply shrugged.

"By the way," Jenkins added, adopting a more serious tone, "Thanks for what you guys did on Eden Prime. I know it might not seem like much running around with a Spectre hunting down another one, but…"

"Just doing our jobs," Kaidan said with a smile. "Besides, you helped stop those nukes. Most people join to defend their families. You actually got to do that and most of all, you _succeeded_."

"I know, but still… it meant a lot to me," he glanced at the mess hall's clock and nodded to himself. "I should head down to the engineering bay; Adams wanted me for heavy lifting and I'd rather put some distance between me and our resident knight in outdated armor."

"Go ahead," Ashley said with a nod. "You have the access, but keep a lid on it with the comments, we're heading to an Imperial colony."

"We are?" he asked in surprise before catching himself. "Uh, yes ma'am. Where to specifically?"

"Colony called New Syracusae in Argos Rho," Ashley explained. "We may or may not land, though, depending on what happens."

"Syracus_ae_?" Jenkins asked with a frown, emphasizing the end of the name. "You meant Syracuse, right?"

"Probably an archaic spelling," Kaidan said with a shrug. "Spellings change over the years."

"True," Jenkins admitted. "But don't worry about me, ma'am, I won't cause any problems," he saluted and walked off. Once he was walking around to the elevator Kaidan turned to her.

"So," Kaidan said, "we're heading relatively deep into Imperial space, huh?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Mostly since we don't have anything better to do and Shepard had something come up. Any… problems I should be aware of?"

Kaidan shook his head. "Nah, they signed the Citadel Conventions so there's nothing illegal there with me. Besides, they're not going to know unless I taunt them over it. I have no intention of doing so. I'm more worried about you and Jenkins, though."

She frowned. Jenkins made sense, but her? "What are you talking about?" it took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. "Oh. Uh, how much did you see on the Presidium?"

"Not much, Nihlus sent me to grab Shepard's cloak, remember? Though it did look like it took a turn for the worse when I got back," Kaidan commented as he leaned back on the wall.

"Yeah," she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Kinda surprised we can work together given that. I mean, I guess we're both just professionals, but…"

"You ended up supporting her on heading to the Empire, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she admitted, surprised at Kaidan's insight. "I mean, it wasn't for her sake - if it was one of my sisters on the line I'd hope someone would do this for them."

"Uh huh," Kaidan said with a disbelieving scoff. "I'm sure it was."

She frowned. "What are you saying, Kaidan?"

"I'm just saying that I'm sure you were just doing what you thought was right," the junior officer said with a smirk. "Why would I say anything different?"

She just rolled her eyes and sighed. "I think I'm just going to go take those eight hours that Anderson told me to take…"

Kaidan nodded. "I'll wake you if anything happens," a yawn that followed told her he might be considering some sleep himself.

"Thanks," she turned towards the sleeping pods before pausing, "Oh, and Kaidan?"

"Yeah?" He was standing to his full height now instead of leaning on the wall.

"You were right about Harkin, though you know that sod about legends, right?"

"A grain of truth?" He asked as she nodded. His eyes widened briefly before he simply shrugged. "Well, it's not my business. You can tell me when you're ready, Commander."

"Thanks."

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"_Any luck?"_ Joker asked as Etel tried again to connect to New Syracusae.

"None," she answered as she shook her head. "Alright, patch me through to Imperial Customs. Which relay are we taking?"

"_We'll be heading into Empire space through Relay 403, coming out in Argos Rho,"_ Joker answered. _"Who's the lordling in charge there?"_

"Not sure off the top of my head," Etel answered as she checked her omni-tool and nodded. "Okay, give me the connection Sinai-Six-Six-Apostle-Four."

"_Read again?"_

She frowned. "Aren't all pilots trained in military alphabet?"

"_Yeah, I think we're speaking different ones. Say it again, slower, maybe I can translate."_

"Sinai, Six, Six, Apostle, Four."

"_Okay, so, S, Six, Six, A, Four?" _

"You got it."

"_Okay, in Alliance that'd be Shock, Six, Six, Alpha, Four,"_ he paused and the communications screen switched and they were put on hold. Joker began to hum a tune as they waited before an image materialized of a minor Imperial officer who looked bored out of his mind.

"_This is Imperial Customs station _Medina_ for Argos Rho; who's calling?"_

"Sir Shepard, Knight of the Knights Hospitaller."

"_Ah,"_ the officer paused before lowering his head. _"Good day, Sir Knight. How can I help you?"_

"I'm on board an Alliance vessel and we are coming into Imperial space through Argos Rho to the colony of New Syracusae. This is primarily a courtesy call; we have a Council Spectre on board."

"_Understood. ETA to arrival?"_

"_Eight hours, Council standard,"_ Joker chimed in.

"The ship's pilot," Etel explained to the confused official.

"_Understood. Vessel designation, pilot?"_

"_SSV Normandy."_

"_Understood; we have you logged. Purpose of taking an Alliance vessel into our territory, Sir Shepard?"_

"Primarily a favor to me," Etel explained. "And we may need to move out quickly due to our mission for the Council."

"_Understood. Once you come out of the relay contact this station to confirm the Spectre's authorization, we will want to speak to him or her personally. Just part of the protocol. Additional questions may be asked. Comply and there will be no need for close inspection or boarding, but remember…"_

"... Anything illegal they do is on me, I understand," Etel finished. "Is there anything else?"

"_No. Have a good day, Sir Shepard,"_ the transmission cut.

"_Well, that went well,"_ Joker commented. _"So uh, what means trouble? I don't need to wear a turban or anything, do I?"_

She just rolled her eyes. "Maybe you need to work on quality over quantity with your jokes. Okay, let's try Tali's number again. It's not like her to not pick up," again, she did not answer. Not even voicemail.

"_Slumber party?"_ Joker teased as Etel cut the connection from her end.

"Let's hope it is something that innocent," she answered. "Okay, let's try the colony proper… maybe they just had a comm buoy accident or something."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, uh, Garrus," Jenkins said as he walked over to where the turian was busy calibrating the Mako's main gun, "How's it feel being on a human ship?"

Garrus turned to look at the human. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

"Oh, sorry. I was in the hospital when you met Williams and Alenko," Jenkins offered a hand. "Corporal Richard Jenkins."

Garrus took it and shook. "Garrus Vakarian, ex C-Sec."

"Ex? What happened?"

"Working with your superior officers," he explained as he leaned against one of the Mako's tires. "Nihlus and our new krogan friend helped us bust in and take back the data proving Saren was dirty."

"And you decided to jump ship?"

"No, I had enough of C-Sec's bullshit," Garrus answered, startling the marine. "If the Executor had simply not stood in my way, we might have gotten Saren with the first trial instead of having to wait for him to completely escape."

"So, what insane stunt did Nihlus do with you?" the young marine asked wide eyed. "Should have seen what he did on Eden Prime."

"Nothing too fancy, Fist and his men were probably not much compared to the geth or these Collectors."

"Yeah, the geth dropped in this big ass unit, a Prime I think is what he called it. That thing just wouldn't die!" Jenkins began and Garrus realized he had just walked into what would likely be another tall tale of Spectres doing impressive, and downright crazy, feats.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Lieutenant, a moment?" Pressley asked. Kaidan paused and turned.

"What is it, Ensign? You've got permission to speak freely," Kaidan said as he folded his arms.

"It's the aliens we brought on board, sir," Pressley explained. "Is it really a good idea? I mean, I can swallow a Spectre given the Lieutenant-Commander, but that other turian? A krogan?"

"You have any problems with aliens?" Kaidan asked with a frown.

"No, not like that, but… Saren attacked one of our colonies. Humans have always stood on our own. We shouldn't need the help to take him down," the navigator explained. "I mean, at least that knight's human," he paused as he rubbed his chin, a smirk crossing his face before he caught it. "Even if the idea still makes me want to laugh."

"If humans are supposed to stand on their own, why does the Empire rely so much on companies like Elkoss Combine for their small arms?" Kaidan asked as he frowned at the navigator, "Asking for help being a sign of weakness is a stupid concept. That just makes us weaker, stops us from growing. The Empire, no matter what people say about them, needed to be helped by the Council and they recognized that."

"True," Pressley admitted with a shrug. "I might just be old fashioned. A bit surprised the LC went for it, though."

"She limited their access to engineering," Kaidan pointed out. "She's mostly worried about security. They could be from the Alliance and she'd probably still tell them to stay out of the drive core."

The navigator nodded. "True. But don't worry, I won't cause any problems. I'm just concerned."

"Fair enough. Carry on, Pressley."

"Yes sir."

Kaidan moved on to the communications suite behind the CIC, Shepard still working on trying to reach her friend.

"_Call me paranoid, but…"_ Joker was saying over the comms.

"Something's wrong," Shepard said with a nod. "Either there was a complete system crash or something is actively cutting the colony off."

Kaidan paused. "How long were you at it?"

Shepard turned and paused before nodding to him. "A while, now."

"Maybe you should just take a break," he suggested. "Get some sleep, maybe, or at least relax a little. If it's just a system crash then it will probably be back up soon."

Shepard paused, then nodded. "Thanks," she winced, putting a hand on her head. Kaidan leaned forward immediately.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, waving her hand. "Just feedback from the beacon, I think. The images from it seem to come back randomly."

"Maybe you should get some sleep…"

She nodded. "At least a few hours, yeah. That might help. Joker?"

"_Yeah, I'll keep the line going, refresh it every once in a while. If something happens I'll comm you."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Several Hours Later**

Ashley, Jenkins and Shepard were just finishing their meal when Shepard looked over her omni-tool.

"Excuse me," she said. "I need to leave you for a moment."

"Prayer time?" Ashley asked, receiving a nod from Shepard, who picked up her tray. After depositing it to its correct place, Shepard left for the sleeping pods.

"Can't believe they still cling to religion like that," Jenkins muttered. "I mean, hello? We're in the space age!"

"What, just because we work in space we can't believe in a higher power?" Ashley shot back, surprising Jenkins. "Hello, have you looked out of the window? How can you see the galaxy and not believe in, I dunno, something?"

"Huh?" Jenkins asked with a frown, clearly confused. "Um, sorry?"

Ashley paused, curling her lip as she realized the uncalled for outburst she just had."Sorry, I've met people who have been weirded out by the fact I am religious. Some people can be quite vicious about it."

"You are?" Jenkins asked, his eyes wide. "Uh, I mean, I..." his shoulders slumped. "I made an ass of myself, didn't I?"

"Quite so," Ashley said with a grin, "but at least you were smart enough to not to say it in front of her," she nodding towards the sleeping pods.

"So... should I even ask?"

"Not much to say. I mean, if you heard the basics of Christianity, that's about it. No need to go into details."

He nodded. "Fair enough. I mean, our settlement on Eden Prime had a sizable Buddhist group, but they tended to stick to themselves. So I never really ran into religious people until I joined the navy."

"Most people tend to keep their religion to themselves, especially given the tension with the Empire," Ashley nodded. _Or perhaps because of it_, she considered.

"But still," Jenkins said, gesturing towards the sleeping pods, "the Empire has a state religion. Other aliens don't aren't really religious themselves, as far as I know."

"Yeah, the Empire has the whole state religion, but that doesn't mean it's not like they're some strange anomaly," Ashley explained, shaking her head. "You ever heard about the hanar?" she asked Jenkins, who shook his head. "They also have a theocracy, as far as I know. The Illuminated Primacy, though I don't know too much more than that."

"Okay, maybe they aren't alone with religion," Jenkins said raising his hands, "but they are the most vocal about it," Ashley nodded at Jenkins words.

"They certainly are, at least as far as we're concerned," she looked over towards where Shepard was. "Though, just mind what you say once we're in Imperial territory, alright?"

Jenkins nodded. "I will, ma'am, but if they start pushing me around…"

"Just act like a professional," she cut him off as she saw Nihlus walking into the medbay, "and if they do push you around while we're there, just smile and let me, Kaidan, or Anderson handle it."

"Yes ma'am."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Doctor Chakwas," Nihlus said as he entered the medical bay.

"Ah, Spectre Kryik," the human doctor said with a nod as she was working on her computer. "What can I help you with?"

"You have the required training to perform medical procedures on non-humans, correct?" he asked as he folded his arms, glancing to the medi-gel dispenser.

"Plenty, most Alliance doctors take courses in alien biology even if we do not specialize," she explained as she turned the console and Nihlus could see it was what looked like a chart for krogan biology. "I've been re-familiarizing myself with it given yourself, Vakarian, and Wrex."

Nihlus nodded. "Thank you. However, I am concerned about our long term supplies. The dextro-amino supplies was meant for one, not two and it may turn into three."

"In the worse case scenario, we can buy off the shelf," she answered. "Though, if you have any reliable sources that you could share it might be useful to have."

"I'll keep it in mind and if we head anywhere that I have contacts, I'll be sure to let you know."

Chakwas nodded. "Good. Though, a fair warning: I'm not trained for the autopsies of unknown aliens, so if we need to dissect a husk or these Collectors…"

"We'll need a specialist," the Spectre finished as he realized what she was saying and nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you. Also, Vakarian and Wrex need to forward me their medical history. I can ask them myself, but if you're heading down to engineering…"

"I'll tell them," he said as he turned. He needed to modify the ammunition of his Phaeston rifle anyways. "Thank you for your time, doctor."

"Not a problem."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, Wrex, how much experience do the krogan have with the Star Empire?" Kaidan asked as he adjusted his hardsuit's kinetic barriers.

"No formal dealings," the krogan rumbled. "I did do some mercenary work against them during their Batarian Crusade, though."

"Really?" Kaidan had a hard time believing Wrex was that old. "Wasn't that a few hundred years ago?"

"Krogan live a long time," he answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"That's… not going to be a problem, is it?" Kaidan asked uneasily as he considered the possible problems.

"Only if she brings it up. It was just another job," Wrex simply gave Kaidan a blank stare and he nodded to himself. Wrex did not want to share, and Kaidan knew better than to prod him as he finished opening the panel to access the kinetic barrier's circuitry.

"So, Lieutenant," someone said behind him and Kaidan almost jumped into the air as he was shaken out of his work. He put down the tools and turned around to see Garrus standing there, leaning on one of the support beams in the engineering bay.

"Oh, Garrus, something wrong?"

"No, just making small talk," Garrus explained as he glanced to the hardsuit. "You put out some impressive biotic power in Chora's Den. Not many humans can cancel out and overpower an asari in biotics."

Rubbing his head as he was reminded of the migraine he had suffered afterwards as a result of that brawl, Kaidan shrugged. "Thanks, I think."

"L2 implant?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah; how'd you guess?"

"Dealt with a few L2 extremists who were taking their anger out on any Alliance or Imperial politician they could get their hands on," the turian explained as he pushed himself off the support beam. "They hated the Alliance for rushing it and the Empire for not providing implants suited for humans."

"I always thought the Alliance just didn't want to buy off the shelf," Kaidan said with a frown, a nagging idea that it was not only mere pragmatic self-sufficiency but also pride that lead to the BAaT program. "You know, have our own production so we aren't reliant on outsiders for unlocking biotic potential. Actually learn it instead of just being given the textbook."

"That's the official story," the turian said with a shrug, "But if L2 implants put out as much power as you or those extremists had… it was a mistake to switch to the L3 as the standard."

Kaidan scowled at the turian. "No, the L3s might be weaker but they're a lot safer and there's a few who can clock in with the working L2s."

The turian paused, surprised at the swift counter. "The Alliance will be judged by the sacrifices it is willing to make, Lieutenant. The L3 series was seen as a sign of weakness and unwillingness to make mild sacrifices for the power to do great things."

"Never thought I'd agree with a C-Sec officer," Wrex said casually as he looked over towards them. "You don't stop using a gun just because the recoil has a little kick."

"Uh huh," Kaidan answered as he curled his lip. "And I bet that neither of your people lost biotics to poor implants."

"Not many biotics amongst the turians," Garrus answered, "though, those we have tend to be close knit. Not a lot of trust towards them."

"Not many krogan biotics left either," Wrex added dourly. "I'm one of the few Battlemasters for a reason, and I was one of those who didn't get them artificially."

"Artificial biotics?" Kaidan asked, turning towards the krogan in surprise. "I thought that couldn't be done."

"It can be," the krogan explained as he folded his arms, "but the procedure killed nineteen out of twenty who underwent it."

"As you might expect, the genophage put a stop to that," Garrus added, earning a glare from Wrex.

"... Right," Kaidan said, "Uh, I need to finish with my armor, so I'll talk to you later?"

"Alright," Garrus said with a shrug as the elevator opened and Nihlus stepped out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Several Hours Later**

As the _Normandy_ cleared the last relay, Ashley, Anderson, Nihlus and Shepard were all stationed around the CIC. Anderson had taken his position above the crew overlooking the primary display, while the others were standing around the central console.

"Sir Shepard, if you would?" Anderson said. Shepard entered her contact number into the system again.

"_That's weird,"_ Joker said by comms. _"I am not getting anything. Not even a failure ping."_

"Impossible! That would mean that that all the comm buoys in the entire system are gone - every single one and the land based transmitters!" Shepard objected.

"Joker, shut down active sensors and switch to stealth. I do not like this," Anderson ordered. "I'd rather ask forgiveness than walk into an ambush."

"Sir, I do not think Empire would..." Shepard began before Anderson shook his head.

"I do not believe the Empire is doing this. Joker, keep an eye on the sensor readings and stay out of range of the colonized planets."

"_Aye aye, Captain."_

After a tense fifteen minutes spent watching the main display in awkward, tense silence, Joker once again spoke.

"_Well, I got good news and bad news."_

"Gives us the good news first," Anderson said.

"_Good news is that I now know why we couldn't contact our target. Bad news is that we've got geth ships in orbit. That's why; everything is jammed tighter than a pickle jar."_

"Geth?! Here? How?" Shepard asked, looking horrified and Ashley could sympathize with the fear Shepard was showing. "What about the colony?"

"_Hey, I can pick out geth energy signatures and outlines, but these things aren't oracles."_

"What should we do, sir?" Ashley asked, looking up to Anderson for orders. "It doesn't look like the Empire knows about this attack either."

"True. They would have warned us by now if they had," Anderson said, putting a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"The geth must want something from there," Nihlus said, looking over the data the sensor suites were picking up. "It doesn't seem like they are bombarding the place. Most doctrines call for orbital strikes to break major positions if there is no fleet interference."

Anderson nodded grimly. "I remember; orbital strikes to take out individual fire teams."

"Exactly," Nihlus answered with a nod. "But the geth aren't doing that. Just maintaining holding positions. They must want something down there, and they want it intact."

"But what? I mean, New Syracusae is relatively old, but it doesn't have anything special on it," Shepard commented, frowning as she looked at the tactical display of the planet. "This isn't Eden Prime where there was a beacon."

"Exactly. I think we should find out just what it is the geth want," Nihlus said as he held a hand in front of his chin thoughtfully. "Captain, do you think you could drop us in?"

"Joker?"

"_No worries. We already did it once, why not twice?"_

"We should take the Mako. Last time we had a problem with transportation and extra firepower never hurts," Ashley added as she considered what had happened the last time. "Can you provide us with air support?"

Anderson looked over the data, before shaking his head. "No, the _Normandy _might be good, but even she can't deal with the four geth ships we are picking up, not without support. We will drop you in and then get out. We'll try to contact the Empire's military and get some help."

"You might be able to hop back to the _Medina_," Shepard supplied, "call them and tell them what happened. This is their area and we know that their comms are intact at least."

"_Roger that. You might want to suit up now, once we're in orbit I'm going to airdrop you. Anywhere in particular?"_

"Try outside the capital," Shepard said as she looked at the display. "Close enough that we can drive there and assess the situation better. That looks like where the fighting is heaviest. Plus, we would be able to link up with the local duke and find out what's going on."

"_Got it. Pressley?"_

"I'm already looking for an ideal landing zone," the navigator said from his station at the display.

"Shepard, this is Imperial territory, so you'll take the lead," Nihlus said. Ashley paused, wanting to object to being sidelined, before nodding slowly. She understood why Shepard needed to take the lead this time, even if it did place her under an Imperial.

"I understand," Shepard said with a nod. "We'll probably need two teams as well, we have a rather large squad."

"Let's figure it out in the engineering bay," Ashley said as she turned towards the stairs, "we need to get our hardsuits on ASAP."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

"Okay, systems check?" Etel asked as she entered the Alliance's M-35 Mako. Alenko was at the passenger seat while Williams was at the wheel and Jenkins was on the gun. They had all synced their hardsuits together, and Shepard could see the critical vital sign displays in her helmet's heads-up-display. If anyone got badly wounded, her HUD would warn her.

"All's green," Alenko answered as he turned to look at her. "We're ready to drop. Joker?"

"_Coming up on the target now. Get ready to freefall!"_

"Oh, good," Wrex rumbled with a grin. His helmet was lying at his feet and secured with a clamp attached to it. "I was wondering how I would get my adrenaline rush today. Why don't I man the gun again?"

"Because you don't fit?" Jenkins offered from the gunner position. Etel turned to him in surprise as the krogan growled. "Uh, well, hey, it's not our fault we didn't build this for big, tough guys."

"Uh huh," the battlemaster shook his head.

"Anyways," Garrus asked from his seat on the other side. "This thing's built for orbital drops, right?"

"As long as we've got about a hundred meters to land, yes," Alenko explained as he was flipping switches and the all-terrain infantry fighting vehicle began to rumble. "Okay LC, whenever you're ready."

Etel sat down across from Nihlus, next to Wrex as the turian Spectre nodded slowly. "Just remember, Sir Shepard is in charge of the mission once we're on the ground."

"I know," Williams answered hotly as the engineering bay door opened. "Okay, we're ready to drop. Shepard?"

Etel nodded. "Go ahead, Commander. Get us down there."

"Hang onto your seats and keep your lunch inside!" she said as the Mako lurched and was launched from the engineering bay like a projectile as the _Normandy_ leveled off briefly. As soon as they were out of the bay, the _Normandy_ rose vertically and the Mako was in free fall. Even with her experience with being dropped in Lionheart APCs from Galleon dropships during her missions for the Hospitallers, Etel's stomach still churned as they fell to the planet's surface. Williams activated the Mako's thrusters, slowing them down for a landing. The Mako buckled as it hit the ground, bouncing briefly on its suspension. Thankfully the internal mass effect generator kept them vertical and prevented them from crashing around too hard inside. The _Normandy_ flew off into the distance and they quickly lost sight of it in the smoke rising from the bombarded capital and the storm grey sky of New Syracusae.

"Anyone's internals external?" Alenko asked as he looked back with a grin.

"Nope, I'm good!" Garrus answered as he put a hand on his head. "Next time I'm wearing my helmet when we drop…"

"Nihlus, can you link the Mako's tactical display to your omni-tool?" Etel asked as she leaned forward. The Spectre nodded and activated his omni-tool and Alenko pressed a button on his console as it lit up. A holographic projection displayed itself in the middle of the Mako's compartment.

"Okay then, it looks like we landed on the outskirts of the city," she said as she looked over the display. Their landing zone was on the south end of the city, with most of the fighting occurring to the north and east. Looking around, it was clear that they were just outside where the city began to become a proper urban region instead of just suburbs, but even the suburbs of the grassy world had been blasted by artillery fire. There was a wrecked and burning tank painted with Imperial colors - grey with gold accents - nearby. Debris littered the battlefield and houses had large holes blown into them.

"Which way should we go?" Williams asked. "Looks like we need to head north, maybe edge towards the northeast if we want to get into the fray."

"We should head in towards the city, see what we can find-"

"Watch out!" Jenkins shouted. "Geth contacts, five o'clock! Light infantry!"

"Fire the main gun and finish them with the machine gun!" Etel ordered as Williams had her mouth open, before she shut it, looking annoyed.

Jenkins whirled the main gun around and with a loud thud the main gun fired, followed by a rapid burst as he whooped loudly. "Take that you synthetic tin-cans!"

"Good hit!" Alenko called. "One left on the display."

"I see him - he's in the building…" Williams said before the Mako suddenly launched into the air.

"What was that?" Nihlus called, the display he was showing shaking as his arm was shoved against the armrest by the sudden thruster use.

"Rocket launcher!" Williams shouted as the Mako came down and drove forward, Jenkins swiveling the turret around and firing the main gun one more time.

"Gotcha motherf-"

"Easy, Corporal," Etel interrupted as she shook her head. "And good eyes, Williams. Just warn us next time."

"No promises if I have to react suddenly," she answered, "but I'll try. You said head north, northeast, right?"

"Correct," Etel answered as she began syncing her omni-tool to the display and putting it out herself. They began driving up, meeting little resistance other than the squad of geth that had either probed them or they had happened to land next to.

"Someone cleaned house here," Williams said as they drove by a bombed out apartment building as they entered the city proper. "There's blood and debris from fights, but no bodies."

"I got a feeling we'll see husks real soon," Alenko chimed in.

Etel felt a pit form in her stomach… and anger as she knew Alenko was right. "Keep your eyes open, then."

"Damn, this place looks like shit," Jenkins commented. "And the storm clouds don't make this place feel happy either."

"Really?" Wrex asked hotly. "Looks like paradise next to Tuchanka. Think I could get a vacation home here?" Jenkins simply shut up after the krogan's deadpan.

"I'm picking up contacts ahead," Alenko said and Etel saw it. A firefight from two ends of a large street with two or more story buildings lining both sides of it, wrecked skycars and a storm drain in the middle.

"I see them - looks like the local PDF is engaged with a geth attack group," Etel said as she nodded to herself. "Williams, Alenko, Jenkins, stay in the Mako and provide heavy fire support. The rest of us will hop out and go on foot to help them."

"Got it!" Williams answered as they ran over a wrecked skycar - the Mako bouncing around its occupants within as it did so - and skidded to a halt as Jenkins opened fire on the geth, blowing out a window that snipers were using for cover and sending a pair of flaming geth bodies flailing to their destruction two stories below. Etel grabbed her assault rifle and nodded to Nihlus as the Mako came to a halt. Wrex was first out, followed by Garrus, then Nihlus and Etel exited and hurried to the ruins as the Mako drove forward, running over a geth trooper and the stone barrier it had hidden behind as the main gun fired at a larger target.

"Watch out - Armature!" Nihlus warned as they all ran for cover.

"Williams, we've got a heavy unit!" Etel warned as she took cover behind a wall in an alley. "Take it out, we'll get the infantry!" Nihlus and Wrex followed her into the alley.

"_Got it!"_ Jenkins answered. Etel nodded to Wrex, who had his large and rather blocky assault rifle in hand.

"Local squad's on the other side of a firing line," the krogan rumbled. "The other turian is heading up a story in here to snipe," Etel could hear the Mako's thrusters and loud swearing in the distance.

"Okay then. Nihlus, Wrex, we're going to storm across. Garrus, keep them down from up there!"

"_Got it,"_ the turian sniper answered, _"just tell me when."_

"Three, two, one… _go go go_!"

The three sprinted out of the alley, geth pulse fire coming towards them. Nihlus used his jet boots to leap ahead of a large, bluish pulse from the Armature while both Etel and Wrex raised biotic barriers as their kinetic barriers were failing from the rifle fire they were taking. The three of them moved towards a large pile of rubble and dove behind it, crouching as a large man in dark grey armor came out from the other side of the wall they were running towards. He aimed a rifle at them before pausing and lowering it.

"God Almighty I never thought I'd be glad to see a krogan!" the soldier exclaimed, a desperate smile barely visible through his T-shaped visor. "Sergeant James Hawk, Imperial Army under the command of Duchess Khalisah of House al-Jilani, 1st New Syracusae Planetary Defense Force! I thought long range comms were jammed!"

"They are," Wrex barked as he rose from cover and fired a burst from his high recoil assault rifle. High recoil for a human, at least, but easy for a krogan and the rounds punched into a geth trooper hiding across the street. Garrus picked off another geth in a building on that side of the street.

"Long story," Etel chimed in. "Sir Etel Shepard, Knights Hospitaller. I'm here with these two, another turian, and an Alliance squad. They're the ones with the IFV."

"So they're the ones that messed up my firing line?" he answered hotly. "Well I'm not complaining if they take out that walker thing!"

"Geth Armature," Nihlus supplied as he leaned out of cover and launched a tech attack across the street, hitting a geth with a rocket launcher and causing it to turn around and fire at the geth walker.

"Right, well, yeah," Sergeant Hawk answered with a shrug when a blue pulse from the Armature exploded above them, showering debris on them and causing their kinetic barriers to flicker. "Anyways, we've got a disabled Conqueror Tank here that we've tried to get working, but the crew got killed by those snipers you took out!"

"How bad?" she asked as both Wrex and Nihlus laid down a suppressing burst with their rifles.

"If we could get the engine running again it'd be good; we tried to set up the main gun like a turret but it's just not in a good position to provide fire support!" he turned as one of the other soldiers was running down from the floor above. "Where're you going soldier?!"

"Roof's about to fall in, we need to move!" the panicked soldier shouted.

The sergeant's eyes went wide and he nodded. "Follow me, come on!" He lead them through the building, geth ammo flying through the windows at them and the building began to fall, plaster and wooden beams crashing down. The soldier who had warned them took a round to the chest and fell and Etel skidded to a halt, grabbing him as the roof began to fall properly.

"Shepard!" Nihlus shouted as he and Wrex turned. Wrex's hands glowed and a large beam about to crush them suddenly stopped and she pulled the soldier out of there as her kinetic barrier dropped. A round went into her shoulder guard and she grunted as she took the hit, but didn't stop. She pulled the soldier out right as the building completely collapsed.

"That was reckless," Nihlus chided as the group gathered on the other side of the collapsed building, "but brave."

"Just get him some damn medi-gel!" she ordered and the sergeant nodded, omni-tool glowing as he knelt next to the soldier and began applying it.

"Damn it!" Hawk cursed, "He's gone - round went right through his heart and ruptured too much."

Etel caught her breath and collapsed onto the ground behind the rubble they had ended up behind, staring at the newly dead soldier. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Hawk said as he shook his head, flinching as geth rounds shot over their heads and Wrex answered it with a burst from his assault rifle. "You tried to save him. Anis knew the risks when he joined. Now then, let's drive these metal monsters back!"

"What about aliens?" Nihlus asked. "Collectors," he clarified at the blank look the sergeant was giving to him.

"The hell is a Collector?" Hawk asked in confusion before shaking his head. "Whatever they are, there's no aliens here, except you guys."

"What about deeper in?" Etel asked as she moved closer to an opening in the rubble where she could shoot from.

"No idea, we got stranded here trying to help civies and the tank crew!" Hawk answered as the two came to the opening and leaned out of cover, both spraying down rifle fire towards the geth. Another Imperial soldier ahead screamed as he went down, just as there was a loud explosion.

"_Scratch one walker and without a tow cable!"_ Jenkins shouted in Etel's earpiece.

"Armature just went down," Etel supplied when Hawk was giving her a confused look as she grinned. "Get to your squad, we'll mop up the geth then get a battle plan going!"

"Yes mi'lady!" Hawk answered. Etel rose and laid down covering fire with Wrex and Nihlus while Hawk ran over to the rest of his squad and they kept up the attack, the Mako now running around like a krogan in a salarian shop and squishing, blasting, and shooting the geth until they retreated, the last surviving geth platform that fell back going down as Garrus picked it off with his sniper rifle.

"Williams," Etel said into her headset as the last geth went down, "we've got some Imperial soldiers here. Bring the Mako around to the other side and meet up with us."

"_Understood; how many?"_

"At least one squad, we also might need the repair kit for the tank they have."

"_I'll get it,"_ Alenko answered as the Mako drove around to the other side of the buildings they were in. Etel, Nihlus, and Wrex met up with Sergeant Hawk in a bombed out building and she could see the tank they were talking about in surprisingly good shape given the fight they had just gotten out of.

"... And get Hasna patched up, we're going to need her missile launcher if we're going to take out those heavies pushing in deeper!" Hawk ordered as he turned, "Pierre, get off your ass and get back to the casualties, the shooting's over!" a freaked out corpsman nodded vigorously and shakily moved back where they came. Hawk turned and bowed his head. "Sir Shepard. We'll be ready for your commands in a few moments, I just need to get my squad patched up."

"Do what you need to do," she said with a nod. "What's the situation on the ground? What happened here?"

"They came out of nowhere," Hawk explained as he gestured for them to follow, leading them towards the tank. "One minute it was business as usual, the next thing we knew they were dropping out of the sky. The synthetics - geth, you said, turian?" Nihlus nodded, "Those geth came first, just dropped right out from their transports, no landing, infantry literally dropping down and getting up to fight. A lot of innocent people died when they started shooting."

Etel grit her teeth and nodded. "Where are the civilians now?"

"We evacuated them to the main base or got them into safety bunkers, or at least many as we could. My squad was with that tank covering a couple still escaping, but it broke down. Faulty maintenance."

"That we can fix," Nihlus said with a firm nod. "The Mako should have a sufficient repair kit. I assume that this Conqueror has omni-gel?"

"Yeah, they were using it to try and effect repairs when those things showed up," he paused, "You're planning on fixing it?"

"If we can," Etel said. "We'll need the firepower until we can get word out," they were at the tank itself now and the Mako rolled up, Garrus riding on the back and dropping down as it came to a stop and the rear hatch opened. Williams, Alenko, and Jenkins came out.

"All clear," Williams said and nodded to Alenko, who had a repair kit in hand.

"Good," Etel said with a nod. "Sergeant James Hawk, this is Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, Systems Alliance. Lieutenant-Commander Williams, this is Sergeant James Hawk of House al-Jilani's command of the Imperial Army."

Hawk bowed his head. "A pleasure, mi'lady."

Williams sighed. "Likewise."

"Something wrong, ma'am?" Jenkins asked with a frown.

"Not the first time someone's assumed she's a noble or something," Alenko explained and Etel smirked faintly, remembering her own assumptions on the _Normandy._

"Oh. Right," Hawk said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I forgot you Alliance types don't have a social order," Etel tensed for a moment, looking over the Alliance troops.

Jenkins was about to speak up when Williams put a hand up and shook her head. "You said you needed the repair kit?"

"We have a tank right here," Etel said, nodding towards it and relaxing. "You have any engineers, Sergeant?"

He shook his head. "No, mi'lady. All of them were killed by those… geth you said, right?"

"Correct," Etel paused, considering her options. Nihlus, Garrus, and Alenko could all probably do it, but all three could also help elsewhere. "Nihlus, Garrus, can you two fix the tank while Alenko goes help with the wounded?" she could see the corpsman from earlier dragging the soldier she had tried to save from the falling building back to the makeshift command post.

"Not a problem," Kaidan said as he passed the repair kit to Garrus. The turian nodded, and the two of them walked over to the tank. Hawk leaned back and called to one of his men to join them as the remainder of the group looked at each other awkwardly.

"So," Hawk said, looking at Williams and Jenkins as explosions and gunfire could still be heard in the distance. "What's the Alliance doing here?"

"Mostly because we're the ride," Williams explained. "That turian in the red and black armor? He's a Spectre."

Hawk's eyes went wide. "Wait a minute, you're that ground team from Eden Prime, aren't you - the one on the news."

Etel nodded. "Correct, Sergeant, but we can't worry about that now. The _Normandy_ \- the ship we were on - is heading out of system to pick up reinforcements and sound the alarm. Until then, we need to drive these hostiles back."

"Commander!" Alenko called, "We've got a lot of bodies and the corpsmen want to get them into a cellar - I warned them about those spikes and we need another set of hands!"

"Jenkins… ah, actually, you okay with him going?" Williams asked, looking to her. Etel shrugged and looked at Wrex.

"I'll go stand guard," the krogan rumbled as he walked off and Jenkins nodded, going to help Alenko.

"What about short-range comms?" Etel asked as she rubbed her chin, considering the situation.

"Working; but raising command has been somewhat hazy throughout the battle. I think the 3rd Syracusae Levy took out a jamming tower that the invaders were setting up."

She nodded. "Get us into contact with command as soon as you can…" an engine revved and they looked over to see that the tank was working.

"Okay, I think it's working!" Garrus shouted.

"Perfect!" Hawk said loudly, "Now we just need to crew it. But that can wait. We need to sync up comms," he activated his omni-tool, "Tune in to channel Legion-Two-One-Testament-Four."

"L, Two, One, T, Four," Etel supplied to avoid another miscommunication. Williams nodded and activated her omni-tool.

"Jenkins, Alenko, add the comm line Lima-Two-One-Tango-Four to your helmet radios; we're syncing up with the local garrison."

"_Copy that,"_ Alenko answered. Hawk nodded after a brief look of confusion.

"Okay then, you're on our channel now, so you'll be able to hear my squad and any major tactical orders." The sergeant glanced down at his rifle and adjusted the heat sink's vent briefly as he finished explaining.

Williams nodded. "Okay Shepard, we've got another tank and we're ready. What's our next move?"

"Support the defenses in any way we can. If we can find Tali, that'd be great too but until the colony is safe…"

"Tali?" a nearby soldier nursing an arm wound asked, "As in Tali'Zorah nar Rayya?"

Etel turned sharply, "You know her?"

"Yeah," he answered, "we ended up next to each other during a sermon and met afterwards. She's been doing some work for General Lionheart, but that's all she could tell me."

"Perhaps it's what the geth are searching for?" Nihlus offered as he walked up with Garrus behind him. "There has to be a reason they aren't bombarding this place."

"I thought they were harvesting us, putting us on those spikes," the soldier said as he shivered. "We had to gun a few people down when the spikes got pulled _out_ of them…"

"Husks. Brilliant," Etel growled. "Don't worry, we'll make sure that they pay for violating the dead like that."

"Amen to that," Williams said with a nod.

"A convert?" Hawk asked in surprise. Etel pursed her lips briefly as Nihlus cut in.

"You can argue theology later, right now we need to get moving and stop this attack. Can you link me to your command-"

A loud series of explosions cut them off as they all instinctively looked to the northwest where it had come from and could see the explosion.

"_Our Pericles' are down!"_ a panicked communications officer shouted, causing Etel to wince as her helmet's earpiece was overloaded briefly. _"We just lost the whole battery!"_

"_Calm down, adjutant!"_ an angry, but calm voice cut in. _"All units, this is Duchess al-Jilani, we just lost our artillery. Brace for another wave and hold the line! I want all units to report in!"_

"That's our call," Hawk said.

"Duchess al-Jilani," Etel said as she keyed her helmet, "This is Sir Etel Shepard, Knights Hospitaller. I picked up a squad of your men and we got a tank working. We're here to help until our ship can raise the alarm with the rest of the Empire."

"_Sir Shepard?"_ al-Jilani asked in surprise. _"I see. Reinforce our defenses, then. Geth artillery is striking at our front line in the city center. Civilians are still trying to get to safety through there and we need to buy them time to get the reserve siege supplies where they're needed."_

"Understood, we'll do what we can. Be aware, I have an Alliance team with me but they've agreed to operate under my command for the mission."

"_Then command them, knight. Al-Jilani out."_

"Okay then," Etel said as Alenko, Wrex, and Jenkins rejoined them. "Geth are pressing in on the city center and I suspect that there'll be some Collectors as well."

"Collectors?" Hawk asked with a frown. "You mentioned them before. You haven't actually explained what they are."

"Big, bug-eyed aliens. They hit Eden Prime as well," Jenkins supplied.

"Something new to fight," Wrex said with a dull shrug.

"Regardless," Nihlus cut in, "what about the geth artillery? Without counter-battery capabilities or air support, there's nothing preventing them from shelling any frontline that the locals can put out and we don't know how long it'll be until we can get reinforcements."

"They'll probably be able to bombard us and drive us back like that," Hawk cut in. "We're the ones who haven't seen heavy fighting, but the guys further in the city..."

Etel nodded. "Nihlus, do you think that you, Garrus, and Wrex could smash that artillery?"

The turian nodded. "We could, but we need some fast transport."

"Take the Mako," Etel said as Williams gave her a harsh glare. "We'll man the Conqueror and help Sergeant Hawk's men link up with the main force and blast the attackers back until reinforcements arrive."

Garrus and Wrex nodded, checking their weapons' heatsinks and in Garrus' case, making sure his omni-tool was working.

"So we're a tank crew now?" Jenkins asked in surprise as he looked at the hovertank. "I'm not complaining, though…"

Etel paused, considering if she should put Jenkins with Nihlus' team. _Keeping him here will only invite a fight,_ she thought as she knew his opinion of the Empire. _Then again, Alenko can rein him in…_

"Nihlus, do you want a fourth?"

He shook his head. "No, we're mostly going to need stealth and some sudden shock."

"Since when was I sneaky?" Wrex asked, almost pouting.

"Since you became a Battlemaster and a wise, experienced krogan warrior and not a young kid without a fully formed head plate," the Spectre answered without hesitation. Wrex grinned and nodded as the Spectre continued. "Besides, an all-human team in the city might work better. Less of a risk for friendly fire in the heat of the moment, especially since we're not locals or part of a larger reinforcement, and you'll be up against the full attack so you need him more than us."

Etel nodded. "Alright then. Good luck. As for us," she turned to the Alliance team, "we're going to man that tank unless Hawk has a crew of his own," the sergeant shook his head. "Alright then. Williams, I want you on the main gun and I'll drive. Jenkins, Alenko, you're on keeping it running and being our detach; if something happens you two hop out and deal with it or if needed help Sergeant Hawk's men. We're going to plow a path right through to the center of town and show Saren what humanity's made out of."

"Hooah!" Jenkins said, pounding a fist into his other hand with a grin.

Hawk nodded. "Alright men, form up on the tank! We're going to make a push and drive these sorry bastards right to the gates of Hell!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes: **

_So yes. The first major deviation from canon in terms of 'missions'. My co-authors and myself never intended to just directly lift from canon with the SE thrown in, but we did want to use a familiar framework as a silent measuring stick. With the prologue effectively out of the way, we can start looking towards our own sub-arcs in the overall race against time. That is not to say that places such as Feros, Noveria, Therum, and Virmire will not be seen, but it is safe to say that we will not be wholly limited to what canon did. And while some locations may stay the same, the context may change drastically._

_Some of you may have noticed that Ashley's stated year of birth is two years earlier than it was in canon. This was a get-around of an error in the official timeline of events found on the Mass Effect wiki, which gives Ashley's DOB as April 14th, 2158. However, her year of enlistment is stated as 2174… which would have her enlisting at 16. As we already established Ashley as having just under ten years of experience under Anderson's command based on that and believed the Lieutenant-Commander rank would be sufficient there (albeit probably newly promoted whereas canonical Shepard probably had the rank for a while), we decided it was the lesser of two evils to move her year of birth two years earlier and leave everything else the same as if we moved her enlistment forward it would have her way too highly ranked, even if she is an ICT graduate which tends to lead to a rapid rise through the ranks._

_Tali will have her first in-person appearance in the next chapter, but as like Mass Effect 2's recruitment missions, sometimes you don't meet the person you recruit until the later half of it - sometimes most of the mission is just getting there. After all, in Thane's mission we never met him until the very end, while in others meeting the person was the halfway point, such as for Garrus._

_As always, feedback is greatly appreciated and my co-authors and myself would like to thank FictionDevourer over on Spacebattles for beta-reading this chapter. He has gone over previous chapters, but the sub-arc with recruiting Tali will be completed before we make plans to go back and clean up previous chapters of various miscellaneous minor errors that were found._

_Thank you to The Night Hunter, .5, Voiddragon11, The Poarter, and ww1990ww for their reviews, as well as a thanks to everyone who has been reading the story and we hope you enjoyed the story so far._

_The Codex entries below focus on the Empire's ground forces, given that the next chapter will be very much about a ground battle, this can give you an idea of what the Empire's general ground combat is like. As always, optional reads for those who want the more detail._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces - Infantry**

Infantry among the Star Empire are known for their strong discipline and zeal in battle. While the infantry lines of their history are no longer possible, Imperial soldiers are notorious for their ability to quickly dig in around an area, establish static defenses such as turrets, and then defend a location until relieved or the enemy breaks. When on the offensive, infantry rely on their Lionheart APCs to get close enough to the battle to engage on foot.

Imperial ground forces utilize a self produced armor pattern designated as Tiberius, though their weapons are often manufactured by Elkoss Combine. Standard issue for all Imperial soldiers is the Avenger and Scimitar lines of assault rifles and shotguns, while the more advanced weapons are supplied by the turian-owned Haliat Armory and are popular if they can be acquired. The Star Empire has so far made it a point to honor their agreement with Elkoss Combine and Haliat Armory for access to these weapons, though several wings of the Star Empire's military advocate for using their own designs instead of relying on standard "bargain bin" gear from outsiders. However, so far no Imperial organization has produced standardized equipment in sufficient quality and quantity to replace the current equipment line.

Supporting the infantry are cadres of engineers and biotics. Engineers are primarily non-combatant officers, though they do train with pistols regularly and in combat can deploy a variety of omni-tool based attacks if required. Imperial engineers primarily oversee the establishment of battle fortifications and the deployment of defensive turrets. Biotics, meanwhile, fill various roles based on the program they graduated from, ranging from assault specialists to serving as force multipliers.

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces - Vehicles**

The Star Empire uses a variety of ground vehicles, which unlike their infantry weaponry, are self produced. The following vehicles form the core of the Empire's motor pool on the ground, but are often supported by auxiliary vehicles from local levies or more situational vehicles as the mission profile demands. To transport infantry across large battlefields quickly, the Empire uses Lionheart APCs which can be dropped from dropships as needed for quick effect on landings on planets. While unarmed, they sport a low powered GARDIAN laser to provide a point defense against rocket attacks. For artillery purposes, the Empire employs a mobile mass accelerator cannons (MMACs), with the Pericles being the current model in use. When engaged in extended ground combat, Conqueror class main battle tanks are used. These hovertanks are on the slow side for a modern ground combat vehicle, but it makes up for this deficiency with the ability to cross broken terrain without the wear and tear on tires as well as heavy armor.

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces - Biotics**

The Star Empire's military biotics originate from one of two programs: Aegis Champion and Black Monk. While both programs seem to be more monastic than militaristic, the resulting discipline and focus is second only to the Turian Hierarchy's Cabals and Thessia's Asari Commando units, with few if any violent incidents while off duty sparking into biotic usage. Imperial biotics use the Imperial developed S9 series of implants, with the new S10 entering field testing as the first volunteers graduate.

Aegis Champion graduates use the S9n implant variant and are notorious for being close quarter assault specialists, using their biotics to give them effectively enough strength to engage krogan in close quarters. The Black Monk program, using the S9x, specializes its graduates in producing singularities, warping armor, working on crowd control, and using their biotics to shape the battle. While neither are on par with asari biotics, they are a powerful force multiplier and are always considered a welcome presence by the non-biotic soldiers in the Empire's service because of this.

Biotics in the Star Empire are accepted, with the Faith of Abraham's official stance being that biotics is _not_ witchcraft as many believed upon first contact with the asari, but an ability that is to be used responsibly as any other human talent. The intense discipline required by the Imperial's biotic training programs only helps this acceptance, as it is rare for biotics to hurt people in accidents. Biotics are rarer amongst the nobility as they tend to have less accidental exposure to Element Zero, but nobles who do have biotic power are statistically more likely to join a Chivalric Order or choose to serve in the Imperial Army.


	8. Priority: New Syracusae - Rendezvous

"So," Garrus asked as he was sitting in the gunner's seat in the Mako, "What's the plan for taking out the geth artillery?"

"Multiple options," Nihlus answered from the driver's seat as the Mako rumbled over the rocks. They had taken the long way around and entered a natural ravine. "We can blast it with the main gun, or we can get up close and use demo charges."

"Why not just use the main gun?" Wrex asked in the seat Kaidan had been in earlier. "Much smarter than trying to run up close."

"Depends on the kinetic barrier strength of the artillery," Nihlus explained as he activated the Mako's thrusters to get them out of the ravine, "and how many guards they have. If the artillery only has a few guards, it may be more effective to quietly wire them to blow."

"Hmpf," the krogan grunted. "Alright, I'll get comfortable until it's time to get out."

The drive was surprisingly quiet as they looped around the battlefield. "So, Garrus," Nihlus asked as they used the thrusters to leap over a broken farmhouse that looked like it had been bombed from the orbit, "I picked up that your father doesn't approve of what you're doing?"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah, he's taking my resignation hard as far as I can tell. Wouldn't have liked you anyways, especially after what we did at Chora's Den."

"Same opinion as Pallin, I take it?"

"More or less," Garrus admitted as he turned the turret around before nodding to himself as the crosshairs fell on some roaming farm animals. _Defenseless herbivores, no match for a tank…_ he thought in amusement.

"I see," Nihlus answered. "Reading your dossier, I noticed that you were a candidate for special training. What happened?"

Garrus blinked, surprised that Nihlus actually checked that. "Oh, that? Yeah, my dad didn't let me go through with it, he didn't want me to be a Spectre. Two guesses as to why."

"Strange; very few of those candidates end up becoming Spectres; most end up in Blackwatch or the Arminger Legion," Nihlus grunted as the Mako ran over a boulder, rocking them briefly.

"Yeah, that was my thought too, it's only training…" he paused as he saw something in the scope. "Heads up, I've got something in the distance."

"I see it," Nihlus said as he looked down at the Mako's radar. "Contacts, four hundred meters to the northeast."

"Looks like a forward operating base," Garrus said as he zoomed the Mako's scope in to get a better look on the FOB. "I think I can see some of those spikes that were on Eden Prime - oh that's just wrong!"

"What?" Wrex asked.

"Those spikes just retracted," Garrus explained as he closed his eyes, glad he saw it from far away where it was mostly just shapes instead of up close and personal. "We taking it out?"

Nihlus paused, then turned the Mako around towards it. "Yes, if we can cut off the source of husks that should give Shepard and Williams a better chance at holding the line. Wrex, you ready to ride on top?"

"Hmm?" the krogan said as if he was waking up from a nap. "What do you have in mind?"

"Move into the back and be ready to hop out. The husks should be easily avoided, but if they manage to get on top you'll need to get them off of the Mako."

The krogan nodded and unbuckled himself, worming his way through the gap with a somewhat tight squeeze before getting into the back and taking the seat he had used earlier when they landed. Once Wrex was through Garrus made sure he was strapped in as he aimed the Mako's turret towards the enemy forward operations base - which looked to be of geth prefabrication design, an air dropped prefab wall with a small building for command center purposes.

"No Collectors," Nihlus noted. "It seems the geth are filling in the cannon fodder role."

"Seems so," Garrus answered as he zoomed in on a geth platform in a tower "Got a geth rocket trooper in my scope!"

"Fire at will!" the Spectre ordered and Garrus squeezed the trigger of the main gun, firing the 155 millimeter mass accelerator, the geth infantry unit in his scope exploding into shrapnel. The rocket troopers on the remaining three perimeter turrets turned in response and began firing their rocket launchers. Nihlus activated the Mako's thrusters, launching them over the rockets as pulse rifle fire sailed up from the other geth platforms protecting the spikes within the geth forward operation base.

Whirling the turret around, Garrus fired again at another tower, blasting the geth rocket trooper out of it and sending it flaming into the spikes as they closed in. "Blast the gate down!" Nihlus ordered and Garrus complied, turning the main gun towards the closed gate and blowing a hole into the upper part of it, which was used as an opening for the Mako to jump into. It landed in the base itself as two rockets impacted the top of the gate as they came crashing through.

Wrex switched to his heavy shotgun as Nihlus ran over several husks, covering the Mako's tires with greyed gore and cybernetics. Garrus switched to the Mako's machine gun and began mowing down the geth infantry and husks in the way, shredding them by the limbs and midsection. He swept the gun over until it began giving him overheat warnings, at which point he switched back to the main gun and aimed it at a tower, blasting the geth platform manning it and the upper part of the tower to pieces.

"Wrex, I'm going to stop by the building, get out and secure the door!" Nihlus ordered.

"Sure, sure!" the battlemaster answered, "Just call when you need help!"

"If," Garrus retorted as he turned the gun and blasted the last tower apart. The Mako skidded to a halt and the back door opened, Wrex blowing away a husk with his shotgun before running out and head-butting another into the ground and engaging in a melee brawl as the Mako's door closed.

Garrus resumed firing with the machine gun as the last of the husks were down or busy trying to wrestle with a krogan battlemaster, but the surviving geth had managed to get into cover and were wearing down the Mako's shields with sustained fire from their rifles. More than they should have been able to maintain from weapon overheat.

"Shields are almost out!" Nihlus warned. "I'm going to park this thing, you're on foot from here!"

"Understood!" Garrus answered as he fired the main gun at a large crate, blowing it open and sending the geth hiding behind it flying into the base wall. He then let go of the controls and unbuckled himself from the gunner's seat. Nihlus was likewise removing himself from the driver's seat as the Mako was parked.

As the door opened, Garrus stormed out and took cover behind a crate as Wrex grabbed a husk that had tackled him and slammed it into the ground, crushing its head into a pulp beneath his boot. In cover, Garrus leaned out and picked off the last geth with a rocket launcher as the Mako's main gun came back to life as Nihlus manned the turret.

Within seconds, the perimeter of the geth forward operating base was quiet as the last resistance was eliminated.

"Is it just me, or was that too easy?" Wrex asked as he frowned, minor scorch marks on his armor where the geth had shot him and covered in gore from the husks he had crushed. "I mean, between myself and a Spectre this isn't much, but I expected the geth to put up a better fight."

"This may have been defended by lower grade units," Garrus offered. "Based on this and what I read on Eden Prime, geth infantry units seem to be in the cannon fodder role."

"Except for the Prime units," Nihlus added, "And they do have more advanced infantry variants as well. However, it is more likely to be related to their networking. As I remember, they only became smart when they networked together, so maybe dealing with them in small groups weakens their ability to operate." The Spectre gestured to the door as he pulled a small rectangular object from his belt.

"That would make sense," Garrus answered as he took a position next to the door, Wrex on the other side as Nihlus walked up to plant a breaching charge and took a position behind Wrex as it counted down to detonation.

The door vanished as the charge went off and Wrex stormed in first, shotgun blazing as Garrus and Nihlus followed him in, taking down the remaining trooper that Wrex had left intact and found that the inside of the building looked like some sort of field workshop for replacing parts of vehicles that had been destroyed.

"What is this?" Wrex asked with a growl, "This looks like it's for assembling something."

"But there's no input," Nihlus noted as he gestured to the mechanical arms on the ceiling, "no major source of materials…"

"What's that in the center?" Garrus asked as they walked into the center of the building and saw a pile of grey matter being fused together, before there was a growl and Garrus suddenly wanted to throw up. "Ugh, looks like I'm not sleeping tonight."

"That's messed up, even with stuff I've seen," Wrex rumbled as he stared at the sight in front of them.

The mass in the center were three husks being fused together and rising from the ground. It was a greyish creature with a pulsing blue sac on its shoulder, a husk's head bent to the side, and some greyish cannon pointing the same direction as the husk looked. Unlike other husks, only the eyes glowed while the rest of the body was the same dirty grey color as the rest. It screamed, looking at them, before its cannon fired and a biotic shockwave blew all three of them back out the door they came into.

Garrus lost his grip on his assault rifle and grabbed his sniper rifle instead, ignoring the burning sensation in the joints of his armor and taking cover behind the door and leaning out, aiming for the sac and squeezed the trigger. The round shot forward and penetrated the sac, spilling a bluish liquid from it as Wrex and Nihlus recovered, Nihlus taking a position opposite of Garrus and activating his omni-tool, shocking the cannon armed husk but to little effect.

Wrex charged forward, rushing the cannon husk with a biotic barrier protecting him and he crashed into it, knocking it backwards and the unevenly distributed weight caused the creature to fall. Wrex then aimed his shotgun at the head and shot it, but to Garrus' surprise the creature was still intact as both he and Nihlus moved forward to press the advantage on it as a blue biotic pulse surrounded it before explosively expanding in a sphere around it and causing Wrex to stagger backwards.

And that gave the two turians the opening they needed, a sniper round and a flurry of assault rifle fire spraying into the creature and taking it out, Garrus destroying the head while Nihlus proliferated the sac and caused it to spill all the strange liquid it had contained inside.

"What was that?" Garrus asked as he applied medi-gel to the burns he had received from the opening shockwave. "The reports about Eden Prime never mentioned those."

"I'm not sure," Nihlus answered as he scanned it with its omni-tool. "Okay, I've taken some scans, and hopefully we will be able to get some samples of these later. For now, however, we need to move on and take the artillery," he glanced around before nodding to himself. "Scratch that. Place a few demo charges on those supports, let's bring this base down so the geth can't just reuse it."

Four charges and an armed timer later, they hurried into the Mako and drove clear of the base, the building collapsing behind them as they left and drove off to their main objective.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been some time since Etel had driven a Conqueror Tank - the last time she had driven one was when she had gone home for a two week leave to visit her family back on Akko several months ago. But despite the time difference, she still felt as comfortable as one could be in a cramped, hot contraption of heavy armor, element zero generators, kinetic barrier projectors, and enough mass accelerator slugs to completely slag a castle from before the batarians sacked Jerusalem. As Etel edged the tank over the rubble of an obliterated building, the hovertank's engines giving them enough lift to clear it, she glanced back to her 'crew'.

"You comfortable with the main gun, Williams?" Etel asked as she glanced back.

"I'm good," she answered. "Autoloader looks intact though we'll have to manually refill the magazine: the loader between the microassembler and reserve is out. What kind of rounds does this fire anyways? Look rather big compared to the ones used in the Mako."

"Two hundred millimeter rounds," Etel supplied, "Bigger than what you use on the Mako, but then again the Mako's not a true tank."

"Yeah, we've got Spartan tanks for when it's time for a full on slugfest," Alenko commented as he checked the engines again.

It was silent for another few minutes as they drove through the city, collapsed and partially destroyed buildings all around them. It was clear just how brutal the fighting had been as they drove through. Sergeant Hawk's men moving through the buildings and sidewalks on the side of the street to give the tank room to move. They reached a fork in the road and Hawk directed them to the right fork, but there were no contacts.

"_This is creeping me out,"_ one of Hawk's men said on the squad radio.

"_You can say that again,"_ a female soldier answered. "_We should have seen something by now, instead of just nothing,"_ Etel looked down at the scanners at the comment, but there was nothing being picked up in range and the city made relying on it for more than thirty meters difficult. She glanced out the tank's viewport as the tank hovered over a collapsed stoplight.

"Husks!" Williams suddenly shouted as she turned the main gun around. "Hawk, you've got husks behind you - get down!"

"_What the - Men get down!"_ Hawk shouted as Williams fired the main gun, Etel watching through the display she had to see where the gunner was aiming and saw the husks coming out from the ruined buildings and out from the fork in the road they had not taken.

The middle of the husk group took the hit and were blown away, but several made it to Hawk's men and close quarters combat began. One of the husks in an environmental suit with a faceplate obscuring the face collapsing to a crouch before releasing an electric burst that took out two soldiers with shotguns who were trying to take it out, which Hawk accomplished from a longer distance after the electric field dissipated.

The rest of the husks were quickly dispatched, Williams firing the main gun at a few that had clustered together rushing through a shop. She blew out most of the small shop, but the husks were destroyed and the few left were easy for Hawk's men to mop up.

"_So those monstrosities are what you're calling husks?"_ Hawk asked.

"That's correct," Etel answered. "That's what these geth and the Collectors did to people on Eden Prime. We coined the term there as a quick designation. Haven't had a reason to change it."

"_Well, all the more reason to drive them off our planet. Pierre, see to the wounded."_

"Uh, Shepard, did you see those quarian husks? The ones with the electric bursts?" Alenko said worriedly. "That… that wasn't Tali, was it?"

Etel paused, staring in horror at the clearing smoke as she looked at the quarian husks sprawled in the mix. "God, let's hope not…" Please be alright, Tali… she thought worriedly as Hawk's men treated their wounded, regrouped and she drove the tank forward through the street.

The scanner display beeped as they approached an L turn in the road and Etel looked down as they began moving downhill "Hawk, contacts ahead. Looks like mostly infantry but there's some larger energy signatures as well."

"_Understood."_

"Should we hop out?" Jenkins asked, Lancer assault rifle in hand.

Etel paused, then nodded. "Do it," the top hatch opened and the two climbed out of the tank as she guided it down the hill, pulse fire spraying out from the buildings ahead as geth infantry engaged.

Jenkins opened fire from the top of the tank while she saw Alenko launching a tech attack at a geth with a rocket launcher, stopping it from firing as its shields were overloaded and Hawk gunned it down. Williams aimed the main gun at a pair of geth hiding behind a scratched up skycar and fired the main gun.

The skycar exploded as the mass accelerator round punched through and the two geth were obliterated while the other two geth nearby had their shields weakened from the shrapnel and were mowed down as Williams used the machine gun to finish them off.

"Good shooting!" Etel called as she leveled the tank off as they pushed to the bottom of the hill, Hawk's men moving alongside them.

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" _Jenkins shouted as a large, bluish pulse splattered against the Conqueror's kinetic barriers and the system began beeping incessantly at Etel. She glanced down and saw the K-barrier was still being depleted and there was some bluish aura stuck on it… similar to biotics.

"Warp rounds?!" Etel shouted in surprise.

"It's not the ammo!" Alenko called as dropped down from the tank, "Some sort of new husk dead ahead!"

Etel paused and looked up, seeing the new husk and her stomach churned. It looked like someone had grafted a husk with a giant blue sac and a cannon. "Williams, new husks," Williams fired the freshly reloaded main gun, cutting the order off and Etel closed her mouth. She did not need to tell her counterpart what to do.

The shot struck one of the husks directly in the sac and burst it open, spraying it and the other one it was next to, with the bluish liquid that began to burn out the insides as they fired again. The kinetic barrier on the Conqueror was dropping rapidly. Gritting her teeth, Etel disabled the drivetrain and the tank dropped to the ground and she redirected the power, Williams grunting as the crew compartment shook from the sudden landing.

"_The tank's immobilizing, form a perimeter around it!" _Hawk ordered as he and Jenkins laid down suppressive fire at the geth infantry moving forward.

"_Watch out, large geth!"_ Alenko warned as a geth standing at about two meters came from behind a building and opened fire with a flamethrower, before it took a missile to the face. Or the singular eye that counted for a face for a geth infantry drone.

"_Good shot Hasna!_" Hawk called as the geth was staggered with its shields destroyed and the heavy platform was brought down as Alenko broke the fuel tank with a biotic attack, causing it to burn away and coat the nearby geth troopers with fuel. One of Hawk's men threw a grenade into the mix, detonating it.

Williams fired the main gun again as it finished reloading and hit the new cannon armed husks. The resulting impact destroyed the one she had not hit earlier before finishing off the first one with the machine gun.

"_Yeah, run you synthetic fuckers!"_ Jenkins shouted as the last few geth retreated into the buildings and fell back.

"Hawk, how bad are your men?" Etel asked as the soldiers began signaling that they were clear. The kinetic barrier was quickly recharging as the weird biotic burns left by the new husk's cannons faded away.

"_A few injuries and some burns, but we mostly came out of that one intact. Thanks for the heavy fire."_

"No problem," she answered. "Alenko, Jenkins, you might want to just stay out and help Hawk's men. Stick together."

"_Copy that,"_ Alenko answered and she saw him tending to a wounded soldier as Jenkins looked on.

"So, what was that with shutting off the hover system?" Williams asked as Shepard reactivated it and the tank slowly lifted back up.

"The power from the engines can be redirected to the kinetic barriers," Etel explained as she watched the systems returning to normal and the barrier recharged. "It has to drop to the ground, but it strengthens the shields."

"Not sure if the mobility loss is worth it," Williams answered as she turned and checked the on board ammunition microfabricator, moving several globs of omni-gel into it to replace the rounds she had fired.

"It's a debated tactic," Etel admitted as Hawk's men reported they were good to move on and she began to drive the tank forward again. "But in a pitched battle where you won't need the engines anyways, it's useful. Plus, cover for the guys on foot."

"True," the Alliance soldier admitted as she moved a fresh, albeit lower quality, slug for the main gun into the autoloader reserve. "Though, if we do that does the driver need to stay there?"

"If we end up doing that I'll handle the reloads so you can focus on shooting," Etel answered as the tank hovered over a fallen street light. The normal system that reloaded the main gun's reserve supply with the freshly made rounds was too sensitive a piece of equipment to repair in the field.

"Sounds good, though it'll be a while until we run that low," Williams answered as the tank scaled over a building that had completely fallen apart down to the foundations that they were moving through as a shortcut Etel paused as she looked down at the scanner.

"Sergeant, there's contacts on the other…"

Suddenly, as they approached a T-intersection the apartment building that was directly across from the street they were moving down exploded, rubble from the outer parts of the building flying towards them while the inside collapsed upon itself. "Cover!" both Hawk and Alenko shouted at the same time, the Alliance biotic grabbing a larger piece about to crush one of Hawk's men and flinging it away.

"Collectors coming from the ruins!" Williams warned as she fired the main gun towards where the explosion had come from. Etel looked down through the viewport and nodded as the shell hit and completely destroyed the Collector.

"Looks like a full squad and I think they're moving more of those cannon husks into position! Hawk, bring up your anti-tank weapons!"

"_Yes, mi'lady!"_ Hawk answered, firing a burst from his Avenger assault rifle before issuing his own orders._ "Hasna, get that missile launcher up here and aim for those big ones with the cannons!"_

"Jenkins," Williams added, "make sure she's covered."

"_Yes ma'am!"_ Jenkins answered as he moved to cover the soldier running forward with a missile launcher in hand, laying down a suppressive burst from his Lancer and catching one of the Collectors in the head.

Etel guided the tank to the side, trying to dodge the two cannon husks' volley but the kinetic barriers took the full hit as the tank was too slow and without enough room to maneuver. Dodging here was going to be an exercise in futility unlike the open field where cavalry always excelled.

_Glad we took the heavy vehicle,_ she thought as she wondered if the Mako would have been durable enough to take the fire they were receiving. The shields were dropping dangerously low from the repeated fire they were taking.

"_Man down!"_ Alenko shouted as Williams fired the main gun again at one of the cannon husks, blowing away the armor of its front side before filling the exposed flesh and cybernetics beneath with the machine gun, _"I've got him, cover me!"_

"_I've got your back!"_ another of Hawk's men shouted as he moved to cover Alenko as he was tending to the wounded soldier.

A missile launched from another one of Hawk's soldiers hit the other cannon husk, breaking the cannon and causing it to stagger back before it collapsed. Hawk ducked back into cover as his kinetic barrier was worn down.

"_Hang on,"_ Jenkins said as he ceased fire to let his rifle cool down, _"They're running away!" _Williams fired the main gun as the Collectors unfurled their wings and rushed away, narrowly escaping the shell's impact.

"They must realize they can't penetrate the armor," Etel supplied as Williams mowed down two more with the machine gun. She stopped firing as the gun was beginning to overheat and they vanished into the smoking ruins. "Hawk, how many?"

"_Losses? Give me a moment,"_ he conferred with his squad, checking in with them before answering. _"About six more wounded, and for two of them medi-gel won't get them fighting," _artillery was visible a block away falling onto a position ahead of them. "_Good news is, they blew us a path straight towards the town square."_

"Good," Etel said, "We're moving forward; can you have the wounded stay back until we can get them to a triage station?"

"_Yes we can. Pierre, get up here!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There's the artillery position," Garrus said, staring down the scope of his sniper rifle as they had moved through the outskirts of a small forest to observe their target. "Looks well defended."

"Agreed," Nihlus answered as he lowered the binoculars and put them back on his belt. The base ahead was larger than the outpost they had taken out, but it was still quite obviously a field job. It had a larger command center, prefabricated and likely air dropped, but it also sported six perimeter turrets with geth units on top of them and armed with heavier cannons than the simple hand held rocket launchers they had engaged earlier. Four artillery guns were firing towards the city, arcing shots from what looked to be fixed cannons. An anti-aircraft tower was also in the center of the encampment. Geth infantry patrolled it, as well as having a Prime unit present and overseeing it.

It also had several Collectors guarding the command post itself, and that intrigued Nihlus far more than the geth guns. The Collectors, like the geth, were enigmatic, but the geth could at least be counted on to have a logical pattern of action. The Collectors were an unknown. "I count one Geth Prime, about a dozen smaller geth trooper drones, and a few midway sized ones. I think two of them are Destroyers, though I can't tell if they have flamethrowers. The artillery pieces seem to be automated, likely actually geth drones rather than manned guns."

"I can handle the Destroyers," Wrex commented, "but running headlong into this is a tall order."

"Yes, especially that Prime unit," Garrus added. "From what Jenkins told me, those things can tank a lot of firepower."

"I agree," Nihlus answered. "That's why we need the Mako for that, but we can't approach it until we whittle down those turrets."

"What's the plan then?"

"Wrex," Nihlus asked, "You think you can fit in the Mako's gunner seat?"

"It may be a bit cramped, but I should be able to," the krogan answered.

"We'll try it. If that doesn't work we'll have to drop the sniper support," Nihlus answered, looking at Garrus to pause before nodding.

"I can cover you if I move a little closer to get into sniper range," the younger turian answered with a nod. "Let me guess: you're going to take the Mako around on a rampage around their perimeter to pick off as much as possible while I snipe, then we withdraw once they're whittled down?"

"Exactly," Nihlus answered. "We can't take them in a head on assault, but we can whittle them down a bit before we do the full strike."

"Works for me," Wrex answered with a shrug as they walked back into the Mako. Nihlus settled into the driver's seat while Wrex was squeezing himself into the turret.

"A bit tight," the krogan grumbled in dull annoyance, "but it'll do."

"Good," Nihlus answered as he saw Garrus taking up his sniper position nearby and signaled he was ready. "Garrus, wait us to get their attention before sniping."

"_Understood."_

Nihlus pushed the stick forward and the Mako rolled out down the hill towards the geth position. The heavy turrets began to fire as they approached and Nihlus sent the Mako into a sharp turn to avoid the initial barrage as Wrex fired the main gun at the turret, hitting its kinetic barrier and dropping it in a direct hit. A burst of machine gun fire and a second blast from the cannon destroyed it entirely.

The kinetic barrier began to weaken as the geth on the other turrets compensated for the sudden movement and infantry with their pulse rifles began firing at the Mako, but Garrus began to pick off the infantry, taking out a geth sniper before the machine could respond to the other turian. Hitting the thrusters, the Mako leapt over a barrage. Wrex fired the main gun again and began to fire the machine gun in short, controlled bursts at the geth infantry as they continued to circle around the compound as the artillery thundered again.

"Keep alert," Wrex warned as he took out the shielding on another turret with the Mako's cannon, "they're getting ready to lower the gate!"

"Copy!" Nihlus answered as he swerved the Mako to the side and a flurry of fire from the two turrets they were in line of sight of went slightly wide, a few shots impacting the kinetic barrier and dropping it to about half strength while the rest missed.

"_Watch out!_" Garrus shouted, _"Geth Prime coming out of the gate!"_

Nihlus ignited the thrusters again as a single large pulse shot at where the Mako was and the Geth Prime was coming out of the gate. "Okay, plan update!" Nihlus said, "We're going to head around the complex and lose the Prime. Garrus, focus on staying alive until we loop back around," Wrex fired the main gun at the Prime, damaging its kinetic barrier, "maybe drop the K-Barriers on the turrets before we come back."

"_Understood, I'll try to thin out the infantry from here," _Garrus answered as his sniper rifle fired off again and took out a geth rocket trooper trying to get a lock.

Nihlus drove the Mako around the complex, losing the geth infantry platforms and isolating the turrets they were facing, which turned towards them and opened fire as the Mako entered their fields of fire. The kinetic barrier quickly dropped despite Nihlus' maneuvering with the Mako and Wrex plugging away with the main gun. They managed to strip all three of the far side turrets before the geth could move more infantry to their side and they drove back around.

As they came around Nihlus swore as the Mako slammed headlong into a heavy pulse round from the Prime unit, and with the kinetic barrier down the Mako rattled at the hit. Nihlus growled as he hit the thrusters, leaping over the burst of fire from the turrets. Garrus dropped one of the turret's kinetic barriers with his sniper rifle, then Wrex blasted it with the main gun, wrecking the emplacement and leaving one left which began to batter the Mako's hull.

"One more turret!" Wrex called as he moved the main gun. "This hunk of junk going to hold?"

"It'll hold!" Nihlus answered as he turned the Mako sharply so that its wheels were lifting, underside facing away from the base, and Nihlus hit the thrusters to launch it to the side. While the Mako reoriented itself in the air with its mass effect core. The maneuver, while dangerous, caused the Prime's next blast to go wide and the last turret to miss its barrage.

"_Dropped the shields!"_ Garrus called as the Mako drove forward and Wrex turned the turret around and fired, hitting the last of the base's perimeter turrets as the artillery cannons continued to fire their ordnance towards the city.

"Good!" Nihlus answered as he turned the Mako around and began driving it away, "Now let's lose them! Garrus you may need a hot pickup!"

"_Don't worry about me, just get clear!"_ he answered as the sniper fire stopped. Nihlus turned to avoid a rocket, but ended up knocking the Mako into a pulse blast from the Prime. Nihlus grunted as he hit his head on the side from the blast's shock on the vehicle as alarms were beeping at him incessantly. Wrex fired at the oversized synthetic, staggering the Prime briefly as its shields absorbed the direct hit. The Mako drove off before the geth could send out pursuit. A few reconnaissance drones tailed them, but Wrex wasted them quickly with the Mako's machine gun.

"How bad is it?" Wrex asked.

"Bad," Nihlus answered, "but we can patch it up with omni-gel, long enough to hold for repairs once we get this back on the _Normandy._ As soon as we park this and meet with Garrus, you'll be on watch while we fix it up for the next phase."

"Sure thing," the krogan rumbled as he edged his large body out of the gunnery controls. "Man that's cramped. Next time our ex-C-Sec turian can man the gun."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Etel grit her teeth as she moved the tank forward. Hawk's men checked the Imperial casualties as they were approaching the city center. The losses were fresh, according to Alenko's commentary, but the battle had moved quickly and they did not find anyone alive.

_Please be because the wounded were evacuated_, she prayed as the tank hovered around a destroyed APC with several dead soldiers sprawled around it, the front of the transport missing from an artillery hit.

"Urban combat always sucks," Williams commented as an artillery strike landed up ahead and the comms were alight with warnings and reports that a Conqueror had been disabled from the hit. "It eventually gets to a point where it's less about skill and more just pulling the trigger."

"I know," Etel answered as she shook her head as they passed by debris, including broken weapons and a rather large heat sink. "But if we can stop it from getting that far-"

"_Sergeant!"_ one of Hawk's soldiers called. _"I found a comm set - looks to be intact!"_

"_Good find, Gerald!"_ Hawk answered, _"Get that gear on and get us into the Command and Control functions."_

Etel paused as she heard the specific need. "Sergeant?"

"_Yes mi'lady?_" Hawk answered, pausing near the tank even though he could not see her through its hull.

"Why didn't you mention you didn't have your comm officer?"

"_Never technically had one,"_ he answered, _"and our platoon's CO suffered a case of acute lead poisoning; we've been on our own ever since."_

"_You did pretty well, though,_" Alenko chimed in. _"Taking the initiative isn't easy, but wouldn't this be something worth mentioning?"_

"_Real-Time C&amp;C isn't about main orders, it's about allowing our superiors to give more detailed orders that can't be done verbally and supplying them with more precise data."_

"_Huh,"_ Jenkins commented as he was climbing over a wrecked skycar and scoping out the downward slope with his sniper rifle, _"shouldn't hardsuits be able to handle all that?"_

Etel glanced down at the scanner and interrupted the conversation. "Look alive, I've got contacts just up ahead near that wrecked restaurant."

"_I see - hold your fire!" _Hawk ordered as he raised a hand to the contacts. Williams moved the main gun, but did not directly aim it at the restaurant as several more soldiers in what seemed to be in house colors stepped out.

"_By God are we glad to see you!"_ the squad's leader said as she stepped out, wearing lighter armor then the soldiers in Hawk's squad, _"Corporal Ilana Deveraux, reporting for duty."_

"Corporal Deveraux," Etel cut in, "this is Sir Shepard, Knights Hospitaller. What do you have with you?"

"_A half dozen men, minor injuries but nothing that'll impair us. I am a biotic, but otherwise we're just rifles. We're trying to get to the city center without being pummeled by artillery."_

Etel nodded. "Understood. Alenko, can you work with Deveraux and provide us with biotic support? Jenkins, you're on keeping them covered from people targeting them."

"_Got it,"_ Alenko answered as he and Jenkins began walking towards the new addition to their group, _"though I'll be ready to help with the medicine as well."_

"What's her specialty?" Williams asked. "Might be good to know."

Etel glanced through the viewscreen and nodded as she saw the small patch on her armor. "Black Monk graduate, I think. Closest comparison would be the Alliance's Adept program."

"Handy," Williams commented as the two Alliance soldiers on foot met their new teammate.

"_Er, Sir Knight,"_ Deveraux asked, _"what's with the Alliance soldiers?"_

"Long story," Etel answered as she shook her head. She did not want to have to explain this ten times over. "But to make it short they're with us and their ship's getting us reinforcements."

"_Understood, mi'lady. Just tell us where you want us."_

"Form up with us, we're heading to the city center," An artillery strike crashed down ahead of them, blasting the road ahead and causing the infantry to scatter into cover quickly, but no follow-up attack came. They continued to move forward, approaching the city center from the southern side. "Sergeant, I think we're here."

"_That we are," _he answered. "_Okay men, this is it! GO GO GO!"_

They moved forward, through the street and into the city center. The center of the city, an example of the Roman style of foresight in planning out new cities that the Empire learned from, was large and spacious to provide the necessary forum for large public events and for handling the flow of commerce through the city. The center was a large park in front of the city hall, and wide streets went around it.

Of course, the park and buildings had been heavily damaged. The city hall and some buildings on the western side had rifle fire spewing out from the windows and from the roofs where Imperial soldiers had bunkered down for firing lines. Meanwhile, the eastern side was swarming with geth. The parks and roadways had large craters blasted into it from both the artillery and the heavier weapons both sides were using. Multiple wrecked tanks and geth armatures littered the streets, as did dozens of corpses and destroyed geth platforms.

Etel drove the Conqueror forward and Williams moved the main gun around. "Targeting the nearest Armature!" Williams called as she fired the main gun and hit it on the side, distracting it from the tank it was dueling with. The large walker turned before receiving another shell from the immobilized tank it was fighting with, causing it to stagger briefly.

"_Hasna, waste that Armature!"_ Hawk called and a missile shot out and hit it directly in the firing chamber in the quadrupedal walker's head and it collapsed forward.

"_Score one for the Empire!"_ Hasna shouted as she reloaded her missile launcher.

"Good hit," Etel said as she glanced down. The fight was locked in and the two sides had reached a state of stalemate, but the PDF forces were clearly on the edge as the artillery continued to rain down from outside the city.

And as if to stop the reinforcements from trying to turn the tide, Collector infantry were moving towards them to try and cut them off. "Alenko, Deveraux, Collector infantry incoming, scatter them!"

Williams fired the main gun again, hitting one of the cannon husks that was pinning down a squad before opening fire at the incoming Collectors with the tank's machine gun. Etel moved the tank towards a burnt out APC.

"_Coll- what?"_ Deveraux answered.

"_The bug aliens are Collectors!" _Alenko supplied. "_And watch it- I think they have the biotics we saw on Eden Prime!"_

Deveraux focused and a small orb of biotic energy materialized in the front ranks of the Collectors, catching a few of them in it and began eating away at their own personal shielding - their biotic barriers being drained by the gravitational pull of the biotic singularity. Hawk's men took advantage of that, pouring on the fire and taking out two of the Collectors quickly before they knew what was going on. Etel grunted as the tank shook from a direct hit from an Armature that dropped the tank's K-Barrier dangerously low.

"I'm entrenching the tank, Williams, get ready!" she warned as the tank stopped behind the burnt out APC. _Here's hoping it'll give us some cover_, she thought as she adjusted the power levels, redirecting the energy from the engines to the shields. Williams grunted as the tank landed, but continued firing, suppressing the Collector squad with the machine gun as Hawk's men moved forward and took cover behind the various wrecked civilian vehicles and craters as another artillery strike hit the city hall.

"_City hall is taking a beating!"_ a voice Etel did not recognize said on the general Imperial channel.

"_It'll hold!"_ another soldier answered, quarian based on the filter, _"It was built with orbital strikes in mind! Keep firing through the windows!"_

"Hey Shepard, even if we hold the line here until Nihlus takes out the artillery we won't do much," Williams said as she fired the main gun and blew a Collector using biotics to lift Hawk's missile trooper into the air to atoms, allowing Alenko and Deveraux to get her down and the former to tend to the rounds she took to the stomach.

"I know, but if anyone can do it they can!" Etel answered as a large geth pulse exploded above them and showered the tank with rubble. Jenkins cheered loudly as he took out a Collector with a headshot from his sniper rifle, removing a significant part of the bug-like alien's oversized head.

Another of Hawk's soldiers was wounded, but Alenko was on it quickly and Deveraux biotically lifted a broken off axle and tires from a nearby overturned truck. A short amount of strain later, and she was flinging it at the Collectors. Two that had been firing at Jenkins and forced him to take cover again as his kinetic barrier dropped were crushed under the axle as it clotheslined both of them.

"That squad's pulling back!" Williams warned as she mowed down another one with the machine gun before firing the main gun at another of the cannon husks moving forward, staggering it before it could finish off the other immobilized Conqueror which had _Big Bertha_ printed on the side of its main gun.

"_Thank you for the save!"_ the commander of the other tank answered as it finished off the cannon husk, blowing its upper body away and leaving the legs to collapse.

"No problem!" Etel answered.

"_Ma'am, we're going to move further into the park!"_ Hawk cut in, _"Could you cover us while we get to Big Bertha?"_

"Can do," she answered as she reactivated the engines so they could move forward. "Other tank, you able to move?"

"_Will do as soon as our shields recharge… scratch that, another walker moving forward and it's on us!"_

"I see it!" Williams answered as she aimed the main gun and fired at the next Armature coming out from behind a wrecked building that had collapsed in on itself and into the fray. The mass accelerator round hit it directly, but it returned fire at the damaged Conqueror, wrecking its main gun.

"_Fuck!"_ the other tank's commander shouted, _"Main gun's out and the systems are fried! Essex, Richard, we're abandoning the tank!"_

"_Those bastards took out Big Bertha!"_ Hawk shouted, _"Hey, Abdul, you okay?"_

"_I'm fine!"_ the tank commander answered as Williams hit the Armature again and two missiles from the city hall shot out, nailing the Armature directly as it fired at Hawk's men, _"Just give us some cover so we can fall back into the park!"_

"_Man down!"_ Alenko shouted as the Armature's pulse impacted just over Hawk's men and one of Deveraux's squad, blowing them into the air before they landed on their heads on the way down. Alenko checked them as Williams laid down suppressing fire with the tank's machine gun and Jenkins picked off a geth drone poking its way out of the rubble with his rifle.

"_Watch out, the geth are bringing in those recon drones!"_ Jenkins warned.

"_Rocket drones!"_ Deveraux warned as she lifted a fallen tree off of a wounded soldier with biotics and one of Hawk's medics pulled her out from under the tree and carried her further into the park as a pair of tanks rolled forward.

"_Bloodhound, this is Dragon Fire, what happened to you?"_

"Bloodhound?" Williams asked as she fired the main gun again, missing but forcing several Collectors below the sniper she was targeting to take cover.

"Probably the tank we picked up," Etel answered as Williams switched to the machine gun and tried to drive off the geth drones attacking with small rockets. "Dragon Fire, this is Sir Shepard, Knights Hospitaller. Bloodhound's crew was killed by enemy fire while repairing it."

"_Damn it. Okay, we're going to form a breaker right in the center and hold the line - they're bringing up a bunch of those weird man cannon things."_

"Copy that Dragon Fire," Etel answered as she continued maneuvering the tank towards them as the tanks began to blast away at the enemy with their main guns. "Who's forming the point?"

"_That'll be me,"_ another tanker answered as a rocket impacted off of their kinetic barrier and Williams swore under her breath, _"You'll be on my right."_

"Understood. Hawk, are you moving?"

"_We're in the center of the park now!_" Hawk answered before firing his assault rifle. _"My team's going to do some digging; Jenkins is helping with covering fire while the biotics are moving some larger debris around."_

"_Glad to help!"_ Jenkins answered before pausing, _"Uh, what the hell is that? Back there towards city hall? Did the geth hang that guy?"_

Etel paused, glancing out of a viewport towards where Jenkins was talking about and felt her stomach churn as she realized what happened. "We need to make sure we come back here later."

"Huh?" Williams answered as she reloaded the main gun and fired again, hitting a Collector that had raised a biotic barrier bubble to try and shield several Collectors moving closer, breaking the barrier and leaving an opening for some of the PDF's snipers to finish it off.

"_Yeah!"_ a presumably quarian soldier shouted based on the filter in his voice, _"Scratch one bug biotic!"_

"I'll explain later," Etel answered, "just focus on suppressing targets… watch out! Geth Destroyers incoming with shock troopers! Hawk, they're rushing your position!"

"_We see them!"_ Hawk answered, _"Drop the sandbags and lay down suppressing fire! Gun down the ones moving close first!"_

"_Artillery strike incoming! Going right for the park!"_ a sensor officer Etel did not recognize warned over the comms, _"Tanks, move it!"_

"_Copy that,"_ Dragon Fire's commander answered. "_Bloodhound, we're moving forward to try and avoid that arty!"_

"_Thanks for the warning, Gerald!"_ Hawk shouted as they all moved out of the way for the incoming artillery strike. The three tanks aimed at the geth storming their position, Williams detonating a Destroyer with a direct hit to it that ruptured the fuel tanks on its flamethrower and caused it to explode into a fireball that knocked the nearby Shock Troopers to the ground. The other two tanks likewise scattering the geth charge as large blue artillery rounds sailed in from above and hit where they had been.

Jenkins screamed and Etel saw him flying into a tree. _"I'll cover you, Alliance medic," _one of Hawk's soldiers said, _"get to your soldier, move!"_

"_I'm on my way!"_ Alenko answered as he hurried towards where Jenkins was.

"Watch it Kaidan!" Williams shouted as red targeting lasers came out from a building ahead of them, "Geth snipers aiming at you!"

"_I see the snipers!"_ Dragon Fire's commander answered. _"Gunner, hit forty-ninth East Main, third floor! FIRE!"_

Etel watched the shell sail into a window on the display and nodded as she saw two geth snipers falling out of the windows as a shock wave burst out from the upper floor of the building from the impact. "Good hit, Dragon Fire," Williams fired the main gun again at a pair of Shock Troopers that had gotten through and were suppressing several of Hawk's men, blasting them away.

"How's Jenkins?" Williams asked as the main gun reloaded.

"_He'll be fine,"_ Alenko answered, _"Some medi-gel and painkillers and he'll be good - he got damn lucky with that, any closer and he'd of been creamed."_

"Let's take what we can then," Etel said as she moved the tank to the side as more cannon husks were marching into the fray. "Okay, we've got those cannon husks dead ahead! Blast them before they blast us!"

"_Artillery strike incoming!"_ Gerald warned, _"Going for the city hall!"_

"_We can't keep this up forever!"_ Deveraux shouted as she lifted a Destroyer with biotics, stopping its charge and exposing it to allow the others in her fire team to destroy it. _"We need that artillery silenced!"_

"Nihlus will have that artillery down," Etel answered, "Just give the Spectre more time!"

"_Fall back to the city hall! Big wave incoming and there's too much artillery!"_ an officer shouted. _"All units in the city center, fall back to City Hall!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The approach was not as easy as Nihlus would have liked, but the geth were not stupid. They would be on alert for another attack after repelling the initial wave. And unlike turian soldiers who could get tired over long periods on watch, the geth would never waver in constant vigilance.

Of course, not having perimeter turrets anymore made the approach easier than it would have been otherwise as they began to take fire. Garrus fired the main gun at a geth sniper that had taken up a position where a turret had been, destroying it and keeping it from dropping the Mako's shields further as Nihlus drove it right to the edge of the wall and activated the vertical thrusters, launching them over the wall and onto the roof of the prefabricated command building. "Okay, we're here!" Nihlus said. "Wrex, do your thing! Vakarian, man the gun until the geth start rushing us!"

He received a pair of acknowledgements as Garrus fired the main gun again and began suppressing other geth in range with the machine gun. Nihlus unbuckled his restraints and grabbed his assault rifle while Wrex kicked the back door open and hurried out, switching to his shotgun as he pulled a geth drone that had floated up to engage them with his biotics before smashing it with his faceplate, the drone shattering as it hit the ground.

"There's an access ladder that they might try to rush up, I'll keep them down!" Wrex explained as he rushed towards it as a geth shock trooper climbed up. Nihlus followed the krogan over and dropped to a prone position on top, firing down at the geth in the yard below as the Mako's gun stopped firing. The krogan shrugged off a shotgun blast from the shock trooper as it did a one-handed shot while still on the ladder, before smashing it with his boot and firing a shotgun blast to the head, eviscerating the geth platform's head and sending it plummeting below.

A heavy pulse burst shot up and hit Wrex, knocking him back and breaking his kinetic barrier as the base's Prime unit began moving towards them. The other geth troops began moving in unison, some platforms laying down suppressing bursts while others either deployed hex energy shields for cover as the geth artillery continued to fire towards the city. Despite the hearing protection all three of them had, each barrage was loud enough to briefly deafen them.

"Those shock troopers are deploying energy shields!" Nihlus warned as he managed to get a good look at one of the geth deploying a shield as Garrus came down next to him. "Try to take them out fast!"

"Got it!" the younger turian answered as he aimed his sniper rifle and picked off one of the shock troopers moving forward before ducking as a barrage of pulse rounds shot back. "Damn it, these geth weapons are eating up my shields!" Another pulse from the Prime sailed over them as Wrex moved to the side before he was hit again, a biotic barrier shimmering around him as he switched back to his assault rifle and began suppressing the smaller geth firing at them.

Nihlus activated his omni-tool and held it over, aiming it at one of the hex barriers and causing it to sputter out and vanish. Garrus took advantage off the suddenly lost cover, picking off the geth shock trooper that had been using it for cover. Nihlus then rose just enough to aim and began firing at two geth troopers sharing a barrier, bringing down the barrier with rapid fire before destroying both troopers. He ducked back into cover as a pulse blast from the Prime was sent his way and exploded against the prefab building's roof, damaging their kinetic barriers and knocking both turians backwards.

"Okay, we have to deal with that Prime now," Garrus grumbled as he picked himself up.

"Agreed," Nihlus answered as soon as the artillery finished firing its next salvo. "Wrex, how many are left?"

"Just a few more of those shock ones!" Wrex answered as he took out a geth moving forward and firing at him, taking a few hits himself but nothing that penetrated his armor or bothered him as he moved back.

"Good," Nihlus answered as he made sure his rifle had cooled down. "Take them down, then the two of us are dropping down to hit the Prime!"

Back at the forefront, they quickly gunned down the last few infantry supporting the Prime and Nihlus dropped down, using his jet boots to slow his descent while Garrus took up a sniper position and began to pelt the Prime with sniper fire. The Prime was focusing on Wrex, who slid down the ladder quickly. The ladder was slagged by a shot that went just over Wrex's head, knocking him the rest of the way down and destroying the ladder, and the krogan landed on his back.

"I'm okay!" Wrex shouted as he pushed himself up and created a biotic barrier to shield himself as the Prime hammered him again with another pulse blast, knocking him into the wall. Nihlus had moved to the side and attempted to overload the large mech's shields again, weakening them as Garrus continued to hit it from his vantage point. Nihlus moved to the side before the Prime focused on him, launching his own tech attacks while his rifle cooled down.

There was a pulse around the oversized geth platform as its shields flashed one more time and faded. "Its shields are down!" Nihlus shouted as Wrex growled savagely. The turian Spectre turned to see their krogan squadmate staring at the Prime as much as the krogan's wide field of vision permitted.

"Krogan charging!" Garrus warned as Nihlus moved to the side with his jet boots. Wrex was glowing with a biotic aura as he rushed the geth with his shotgun in hand, crashing headlong into it and staggering it backwards before he blasted it with a shotgun blast .His hand glowed blue before he smacked the platform again, causing its armor to visibly deform and Wrex moved to the side.

"Have at it!" the ancient battlemaster snarled as his shotgun was venting heat, still in control despite the rage slurring his words together as the artillery guns thundered again. The two turians opened fire and hammered the Prime, assault and sniper rifle fire pounding its chest as the platform tried to recover and it found itself on the defensive.

"It's going, wait, I hear buzzing!" Garrus shouted as he stopped firing and turned. "Crap, those Collectors snuck around! I'll deal with them!"

"Do you need help?" Nihlus asked as he used his jet boots to leap clear of a pulse blast the Prime sent his way as Wrex head-butted it in the flank.

"I've got it!" Garrus shouted, "Get the Prime!"

Nihlus nodded to himself as he grabbed his shotgun and leapt towards the Prime with his jet boots, blasting it directly where Wrex had warped it before moving to the side. The Prime swung its heavy cannon to try and smash him in melee, but missed. The krogan head-butted it again, knocking it forward and Nihlus dropped his left hand from his shotgun, activating his omni-blade and stabbing the meter and a half tall geth in the torso where its armor had been biotically warped. The blade penetrated the weakened armor and cut cleanly before he pulled back as the Prime turned towards Wrex, who punched it there biotically and broke it.

The Prime snarled again before managing to hit Wrex, knocking the krogan backwards and into Nihlus as he was coming around to try and get a shot off at the opened joint as off white bullets shot out from the prefab's roof. The two landed a meter away from the Prime and pushed themselves up as the large geth platform brought its cannon back around. "Wrex, warp a spot in the armor and I'll weaken it, then smash it!" Nihlus shouted as he used his jet boots to slide backwards along the ground clear of the attack while the krogan threw himself to the side. The krogan looked at him, then nodded, launching another biotic warp towards the Prime and catching its left arm.

The Prime snarled at the krogan and turned to attack, Nihlus leaping forward as Wrex ran to the side to draw its fire, biotic barrier raised to protect him from a grazing hit from the pulse cannon. Nihlus activated his omni-blade again and stabbed the shot before pulling the overloaded and disposable blade clear and hitting the Prime with a shotgun blast, getting it to follow him before using his jet boots to clear out away from it as Wrex charged the geth again and smashed into it, staggering it before blowing a large hole into its arm with his shotgun. Nihlus' omni-tool chirped a warning but he put it to the side - Garrus could take care of himself.

"Hah! That's it?!" Wrex shouted as he grabbed the Prime's hand and ripped the left arm off, the weakened armor and joints cracking and with a sharp tug the entire hand came off. The Prime staggered forward, chittering towards the battlemaster in the clicky language the geth spoke before smacking the krogan in the face with the stump of its broken left arm. Nihlus leapt in again, reaching for the pulse cannon and impaling it with his omni-blade, catching it in the barrel as the prime noticed him and threw him off to the side with its right arm as another gun began to sound off on the prefab's roof.

But even the mechanical strength of machines does not always compensate for one-handed usage of a weapon heavy even by krogan standards, and the inertia of the pulse cannon caused the Prime to stagger in the direction that Nihlus was thrown. Wrex capitalized on this, charging into the geth with his full weight and using his biotics to increase his mass as he leapt at the meter and a half tall geth. The Prime collapsed under the weight, landing on the side and its pulse cannon was pointed towards Nihlus.

"Wrex, back off!" Nihlus warned as he saw the cannon warming up for one more pulse, the Spectre activating his jet boots to launch himself backwards and to the side. The krogan looked down and pushed himself off the geth, continuing his charge at an angle as the geth activated the weapon…

… And the pulse cannon exploded, though the noise was muffled by another salvo from the artillery. With its barrel severed and, Nihlus presumed, its power supply compromised, the weapon detonated on itself during the firing sequence. The resulting explosion was small, no larger than the average grenade, but going off in the Geth Prime's hand was all that it took to ruin the platform's remaining arm. Nihlus and Wrex both marched back to it, shotguns in hand, and both fired a shot into the chest of the mechanical monstrosity, finishing it off for good as an engine rumbled.

The two looked up and saw the Mako driving off the roof and landing roughly before parking in front of them. A moment later, the rear hatch opened and Garrus walked out, covered in strange blood. Collector blood.

"I took 'em out, half dozen. Used the Mako's machine gun, though I had to fight a pair up close and personal when I was trying to get into it," he pointed to a leg wound as well as a few slash marks on his arms and Nihlus nodded to himself. That was what his omni-tool was warning him off - Garrus' injuries being inflicted.

"You applied medi-gel?"

"Of course," the ex C-Sec officer answered. "I did it as soon as I mowed down the last of the ones attacking. I'll be fine, I probably won't need a doctor unless I try to run the Valluvian Marathon."

Nihlus' mandibles twitched briefly in amusement. "If you can run fifty-six kilometers straight with that kind of leg wound I'd eat my shotgun."

"Hah!" Wrex chuckled, "I'd like to see that happen! Make sure to remove the trigger mechanism first. I'm not cleaning up the mess."

"Either of you need medi-gel?" Garrus asked, "Particularly you Wrex, you're bleeding."

"Oh, this?" the krogan asked, glancing down at his arms and shrugging at the blood. "Already stopped bleeding; all scratches. Probably be fully healed in a minute, maybe two."

Garrus paused, mandibles hanging wide with a mouth dropped open before he closed his mouth and shook his head. "Right. Krogans regen even in combat."

"Part of our sunny disposition," the krogan continued on with a mock cheer and a grin. "We also have a redundant everything, unlike all you wimps who can't stand having extra livers, hearts, ribs, even a double set of g…"

"Let's not go there," Nihlus said simply. "We still have a job to do," the krogan simply shrugged as they moved towards the door to the prefabricated building. Taking up storming positions, Nihlus overrode the door's controls and it opened. As soon as it opened Collectors opened fire on them. The three paused, Garrus switching to his assault rifle while Nihlus glanced inside and nodded.

"Four hostiles suppressing us; two on each side," Nihlus explained. "Corridor is wide. Wrex, charge to the right and we can hammer the left."

The krogan nodded and stepped out before focusing briefly and charging inside. As he did, Garrus leaned around the wall and fired at the two Collectors on the left. As soon as Wrex was clear Nihlus did the same, Garrus catching one and dropping its barriers while Nihlus finished it off, the other Collector managing to take cover in time. Wrex meanwhile lost his kinetic barrier, but replaced it with a biotic version, closing in on the Collectors he was rushing and attacking in close quarters. A shotgun blast was followed by loud thuds as the two turians moved forward and shot the last Collector as it rose to try and shoot Wrex's back.

As they came up, Wrex's gauntlets and armor was dripping with Collector blood as one was sprawled against the wall with a smoking hole where its neck had been, no head in sight. The other had both of its arms broken off and was crumpled along the floor. The krogan was checking a chest wound that was already clearly regenerating shrugged to himself as he finished. "Done."

Nihlus nodded as the artillery thundered again. "Good work. I'm going to clear the rest of the building and root around for useful information. You two wire the place to blow with the demo charges we brought."

"Yes sir," Garrus answered before heading outside again. Nihlus moved his way through the building, clearing room after room but found very little. In true geth style, the prefabricated structure was wholly utilitarian. No decorations, no mementos. Only a few minor consoles, power plugs, and a few crates of standard munitions. Nihlus frowned as he saw one crate that had been opened and unusual cylinders inside, one loose lying at the top of the pile. He pulled the cylinder out, looking at it curiously as he scanned it.

"Heat absorption?" he asked to himself in surprise as his omni-tool reported what it picked up. He grabbed several samples and pocketed them. _These may come in handy later_, he thought as he moved on into the last room, taking up a position at the door and checking his corners as he advanced, but found no hostiles as the door closed behind him. They had taken out the entire garrison.

A console beeped to life and Nihlus turned around, looking it over and aiming his shotgun at it instinctively before he realized it was not a countdown. A few seconds later, Saren's face appeared into the space above it as a hologram. He was not looking at the Nihlus, rather, it seemed he was reading something outside the hologram's view, likely from his end.

"_What is taking you so long? I would have thought that the geth could crack a local planetary def-" _he said, before raising his gaze and his eyes widened in shock. _"Nihlus?"_

"In person," Nihlus answered, keeping his voice and face steady as he lowered his gun. "What are you doing, Saren?"

"_What I must,"_ Saren explained slowly. _"I take no pride from this, but I am simply doing what I must."_

"Allying with the geth, destroying human colonies?" Nihlus asked, taking a step towards the hologram. "What could possibly be so dangerous to call for such extreme actions? I know you have a low opinion of humans, but murder on this scale? Attacking loyal members of the Citadel Alliance and butchering their people?"

"_Nihlus, I do not expect you to understand. There are things far beyond their petty squabbles at stake here,"_ Saren explained, before pausing for a moment. _"Try to stay alive, Nihlus," _Saren said finally before the connection was cut from his end.

Nihlus was left alone staring at the empty space, processing the information he had just gained in shock. Eventually, he slammed his fist against the console.

"You damned idiot!" he shouted, his frustration with the entire mission coming to a head. "What the hell do you think you are doing?! You were supposed to be the best of us!" he stopped to compose himself as the door opened and Garrus entered the room.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"Yes. We need to wrap this up quickly and get word to Council to revoke Spectre Arterius' Spectre clearance," Nihlus said, turning to leave. "Are the demo charges are in place?"

"Yes sir. Just give the word and the whole place goes sky high."

"Good. Then let's get to it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_Look alive, they're moving in a big one!" _Hawk shouted as Etel saw a larger geth walker moving in.

"Heaven help us," she said as her eyes widened. "Williams?"

"I'm on it!" the Alliance commander said as she swiveled the gun around and fired. The other two Conquerors also fired at the large geth walker, hitting it but the kinetic barriers protecting it absorbed the impact. It leaned back on its legs, the cannon around what Etel considered close to a mouth fired, the pulse streaming towards them. Etel moved the tank to the side and the pulse exploded next to them, grazing them and dropping their shields but not depleting them.

"_How bad did that hit?"_ Dragon Fire's commander asked.

"Worse than it should have!" Etel answered as she moved the tank around, trying to simultaneously avoid running over the PDF soldiers fighting the enemy infantry moving forward while staying out of the larger geth's line of fire..

"_Okay then,"_ the other tanker said confidently as they traded another salvo, _"time to entrench! Let's see how their steel matches ours!"_

The geth and Collectors were slowly gaining ground, Hawk's men were now joined by more of their brothers and sisters in arms, but they were outnumbered and casualties were growing with both medics and corpsmen at full stretch. Deveraux lifted an object from the debris of a blown out building with biotics and flung it into the field, crushing the Destroyer rushing Jenkins and knocking it onto its back.

"Was that a kitchen sink?!" Williams asked in surprise as it flew over the tank. Etel simply shrugged in response.

"_It was!"_ Alenko added before he left his comlink on. _"Out of medi-gel? Go get some, there's dozens of wounded here and we don't have time to do it old school!"_

The large geth walker fired again, aiming at Dragon Fire. The Conqueror fired again as the pulse shot towards them as they had dug in, their kinetic barriers flashing and then shattering as the pulse blast went through them._ "Holy shit we just lost our shields!" _they shouted, _"I don't think we want another hit like that!"_

"Get mobile!" Etel shouted, "We can't stick around with that kind of firepower, we don't have the barriers for it!"

"_Roger that mi'lady!"_ The tank's hover engines reignited and it slowly began to become mobile again when several rockets from the geth's drones as well as a volley from a cannon husk, shattering the forward two engines and causing the tank to drop. "_Shit! Engines are down! Keep firing, we're holding them back all the way to the end!"_

"You know," Williams said as she fired the main gun again and managed to hit the geth walker's head, causing it to stagger briefly, "We're needed in here, but if we're going to die here I'd rather die on my feet shooting than in this thing."

"I know what you mean," Etel said as she wanted to leap out and use her biotics in the field. The only reassurance she had was that she was at least at the wheel, keeping them mobile and away from the enemy fire. That at least gave her something to do to try and survive. Another of the cannon husks moved forward and fired, hitting the tank and weakening its shields further as she moved behind a small hill in the park, evading the fire and getting a chance to recharge the shields as the tank drove around to get a different angle, supporting a different squad of infantry now as Williams suppressed several Collectors moving on the squad with the machine gun.

"_Jenkins, stay down, you're going to get hurt!"_ Alenko warned.

"_I'm staying down!"_ the other marine answered before his assault rifle took up the audio. _"But I'm also taking out these drones, the rockets are pissing me off!"_

"Don't get amped up, Jenkins," Williams chided as she fired the main gun at the large geth walker again, hitting it in tandem with the other Conqueror still in operation. "Keep your focus!"

"_Yes ma'am!"_ Jenkins answered as he fired again, _"Rocket drone down! Suck on that you robotic-"_ he was cut off as something slammed into him. _"Damn it, shields out!"_

"_Focus your fire!"_ Hawk shouted,_ "Target that cannon husk and take it down now!"_

Etel moved the tank to the side again as the large geth walker fired at them as their shields were mostly recharged, managing to hit the side of the tank. Alarms blared incessantly at them as Etel was thrown against the restraints while Williams hit her head on the top of the tank, though her helmet protected it. "You okay?" Etel asked.

Williams fired the main gun in response, dropping the walker's shields. "I'm fine!" she answered. "Using up ammo quickly here, this thing is tough!"

"How much do we have left?" Etel asked; if they ran out of ammunition for the main gun…

"Over half, but at this rate I'm not sure how much longer it'll last!"

"Just make each shot count!" Etel grit her teeth as several missiles shot out from city hall and smashed into the large geth walker, staggering it before it rose and fired again. There was a scream cut off before it hit its target.

"_Holy shit! Dragon Fire just got blown to pieces!"_

"_Pierre, Alenko, check for survivors!" _Hawk ordered._ "Jenkins, Deveraux, Hasna, Gerald, cover them!"_

"Keep firing!" Williams shouted as Etel drove the tank around the hill and Williams used the machine gun to take out a geth rocket drone that was damaging their shields. "That walker lost its shields and it has a weak spot in the cannon, pour it on! We can take it out!"

"_This is Alenko, we got one survivor in the tank! I'm going to pull him back, he's in bad shape!"_

"_Hey, where'd the artillery go?"_ Jenkins asked as Etel saw him and another Imperial soldier tag team a Destroyer in melee, the Imperial using his omni-blade to slash its weapon and stagger it before Jenkins finished it off with a shotgun burst.

"_Gerald! Where's the enemy arty?"_ Hawk demanded as Etel saw him dropping into cover from taking down a Collector moving forward. A soldier next to him caught a few rounds from another Collector directly through his faceplate and collapsed.

"_Hang on!" _the makeshift communications officer said as they kept fighting. The loss of artillery was not only noticed by Jenkins and there was radio chatter about the lack of artillery strikes before another voice cut in.

"_Imperial Forces, this is Spectre Kryik: Geth artillery neutralized. I repeat: Geth artillery neutralized!"_

"_YEEEEAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOO!"_ Jenkins screamed, followed by other PDF soldiers cheering over the destroyed artillery. Etel could almost taste the soaring morale as they threw themselves into the fight.

"_This is Duchess al-Jilani to Spectre Kryik: thank you for the assistance. All forces still fighting, take the initiative back and drive the geth out of our city!"_

Etel grinned widely as she keyed the tank's radio to answer. "With pleasure, Duchess."

"Tide's turning," Williams said with a faint grin, "the geth are slowing down their attacks! They know they lost the big push."

Etel glanced at the walker and grinned. "All PDF soldiers in the city center, this is Sir Shepard, Knights Hospitaller. That walker is the main thing holding this wave together. Anyone with a missile launcher, waste that thing!"

Williams fired the main gun at the heavy geth walker again as it was turning towards them and fired. The blue pulse blast hit the tank and broke past their shields.

"How bad?!" Williams asked as she hit her head from the force of the impact.

"Armor took it but I wouldn't stick around for another direct hit!" Etel answered as she moved the tank back around the hill as several more missiles shot at the large geth and hit it head on. The walker swayed before taking another hit from the main gun and it finally collapsed forward.

"Walker down! I repeat, geth walker is down!" Williams called out as she was smiling widely at the burning enemy vehicle.

"_Hell yeah! Take that you metal bastards!"_ Jenkins shouted.

"_The hellhounds are running! Give 'em nothing but bullets to the back!"_ Hawk ordered.

"_Stay alert,"_ Deveraux cautioned, sounding tired, _"they've set up firing lines to cover the retreat."_

Etel glanced down as her omni-tool chirped. Activating it as the tank's shields recharged and Williams continued to fire away at the main gun, she saw it was Nihlus.

"_Shepard, Williams, you alive?"_ the turian asked, clearly driving the Mako.

"Thanks to you," she answered as Williams used the machine gun to break a series of hex barriers that several geth had deployed to cover their retreat down a wide street. "The geth are falling back from the center of the city. I'd suggest you take a long way around."

"Already doing that, but thank you for the heads up. Are communications back up?"

"No updates on that," Etel answered as she edged the tank out of the way so the infantry could move forward. "I'll patch you in as soon as they're up."

"_Good, because we need to tell the Council to revoke Spectre Arterius' rank."_

Etel widened her eyes as she realized the implication. "Understood. Shepard out."

"Got 'im?" Williams asked between shots.

"They did," Etel answered with a grin. "Now he has nowhere to hide."

"Good. Now let's finish this off!"

Driving the geth out of the city center turned out to be a surprisingly easy task, given how desperate the situation had become. While the PDF troops suffered a few losses from geth recon and rocket drones ambushing from windows or snipers, the geth were in full retreat, but the PDF did not perform a full pursuit. The geth still had several strong points in the city and they needed to regroup, and the City Hall had become the new rally point for the surviving forces of New Syracusae's planetary defense forces. Handing the Conqueror Tank to the survivors of Big Bertha's crew at Hawk's suggestion, Etel and Williams dropped out from the side of the tank.

"You know," Williams said as she put her hands on her back and pushed, stretching as much as her hardsuit would allow, "I'm starting to see why most Alliance tankers tend to be the runts of the litter. It's a cramped job."

"Same in the Empire," Etel answered as she shook her right leg to try and get rid of the cramp there. "But at least we helped blunt the assault."

Williams nodded as they walked towards where Jenkins and Alenko were, the latter tending to the former who had a dozen new scorch marks on his armor and small chunks of it was missing. Williams sighed as they walked into the little triage station that Alenko and another medic had set up. "How many times did you get shot this time?" the Alliance commander asked.

"Discounting the stuff my shields stopped? OW!" he grunted as Alenko injected something into his neck. "Lost count."

"He's still fighting, though," Etel commented, impressed at Jenkins' resilience. "Though, you're going to want to see a doctor about that."

"Yeah, Chakwas can chew me out later," he muttered as he reached for his Lancer. "So, the geth are falling back?"

"They are," Etel answered. "Nihlus, Garrus, and Wrex should be joining us soon; they're taking the long way around to avoid trouble."

"Good," Jenkins said with a nod. "You know, I like these guys," he gestured towards Hawk and his squad. "They care about each other, cover each other. Hell, they covered me like we had always fought together."

"Why are you so surprised?" Alenko said with a smirk. "They're soldiers, just like you. Politics doesn't matter when the barbarians are at the gate."

"Still," Jenkins said with a shrug, "I do hope we can find this Tali real soon. She wasn't one of those husks we ran into on the way here, was she? I only saw the cannon ones in the city center."

"Unless she got fused into one of those, probably not. Hopefully not," Williams added as Etel failed to keep the worry from her face as the subject was broached again.

"In the meantime we should…" Etel's omni-tool chirped again and she looked down at it before answering the call. "Shepard here."

"_Sir Shepard,"_ it was al-Jilani, _"I want you to report to the command center. Bring the Alliance soldiers with you as well, and if you can ask the Spectre to come over. Sergeant Hawk's squad will stay with you and guide you over."_

"Yes, Duchess, we'll be there shortly," Shepard answered as she lowered her head briefly and looked up to them as al-Jilani's image faded. "Jenkins, you able to walk?"

The Alliance marine pushed himself up. "Yeah, I can walk. We going to call Nihlus?"

"I'll handle it," Williams said as she stepped to the side and Sergeant Hawk walked over.

"Whenever you're ready, we'll guide you to the Duchess' command center," he said as he lowered his head respectfully. "Thank you again for the assistance."

"All in a day's work, Sergeant. Your men did well," Etel answered. "How many did you lose?"

"Mostly wounds in my squad, mi'lady, though a few might be career ending," he sighed and shook his head. "Pierre's working on that now, but I won't know until the medics have more time."

Williams walked back and nodded. "He knows; he'll meet us there. Sergeant, can you warn the PDF that an Alliance M-35 Mako will be approaching the city by the southern outskirts and will need a guide?"

"Can do," he said with a nod. "Anything else?"

Etel glanced over them, pausing as she realized one thing that he could help with. "Sergeant, could you have someone find Tali'Zorah nar Rayya? Or at least tell her that I'm here and need to talk to her?"

"Easily; I'll have Gerald pass it up the chain."

"Thank you. Lead on, Sergeant."

The sergeant nodded and guided them to an armored personnel carrier, a V-90 Lionheart specifically, and once they were all on board, Hawk signaled the driver to move out and they were moving down the eerily quiet streets as the fighting entered a lull.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

Authors Notes: _So, this chapter came later than most of our updates. However, we have a reason for this: It kinda grew beyond our original plan, plus we had to make up _everything_. Despite this, we decided to cut it down to a more manageable size, so hopefully the next chapter will be available little bit quicker than this one. However, this did mean that Tali's first in person appearance will not be until the next chapter._

_As you may have guessed, 'cannon husks' are indeed Scions. However, unlike husks which had some sensible nomenclature, calling it a Scion is not something that we felt any of the squad would do as the term comes from gardening. However, the term used for them will appear later on, once the Citadel's member states get more knowledge of these husks._

_As always, thank you to those who have provided feedback to the story and we hope you enjoyed this chapter._

_As always, Codex entries below. First is a more detailed overview of the Conqueror, similar to the Mako codex entry from the game, and the second is a look at the tactical system the Empire was using, which is intended to be an expansion on the existing technology bases used in the Combat Information Center (CiC, which on the _Normandy_ is where the galaxy map is) of various ships in canon._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces - Vehicles - V-43 Conqueror**

Commissioned originally by the Teutonic Order seeking an advanced battle tank for deployment in difficult terrain, the V-43 Conqueror is a heavy main battle tank prototyped and manufactured by the Empire's go-to source for heavy armored ground vehicles: the Nod-based manufacturing cologmorate Bello Ardere. Armed with the standard heavy 200 millimeter mass accelerator cannon used by most Citadel Alliance main battle vehicles as well as a machine gun for infantry suppression, the V-43 hovered into the field in 2659 Council Era (2159 Common Era) with a tank platoon of twenty first generation models used by the Teutonic Order. With the ability to engage on far more planets than the old V-36 Lupus Tank due to the hover drivetrain, Bello Ardere found itself commissioned with a contract from Emperor Titus to upgrade the Star Empire's ground army with these new tanks, replacing one iconic design with another.

While the slowest of the Citadel Alliance's main tanks due to the additional strain of the heavy armor on the hover engine design and the tank's standard element zero core, it has a different form of mobility to make up for it. Due to the hover system, it can cross rough terrain with minimal loss of speed, extremely useful in urban combat or broken battlefields where the terrain quickly becomes unsuitable for some drivetrains due to increasingly adversarial circumstances. Note, however, that even with the element zero core driving it it is unable to float more than two meters from the ground on most planets due to sheer mass. As a result, it also is unable to be air-dropped from over an altitude of 10 meters without damaging the tank on landing, compared to the more common 30 meters capable of most other mainline tanks relying on non-hover drivetrain, including the System Alliance's M-30 Spartan or the Turian Hierarchy's T-334 Phalanx.

The Conqueror is otherwise considered a standard battle tank, sporting the standard omni-gel based repair system and microassembler to manufacture reserve ammunition for long drawn fights and temporarily repair the vehicle until proper maintenance can be performed. It is also fully environmentally sealed with reserve supplies of oxygen on hand. However, it also has an improved power redirect system after several crews immobilized their tanks by disabling the drivetrain and rerouted the power to their kinetic barriers, significantly strengthening them. This tactic is still debated amongst the upper echelons of military strategists, but is commonly taught to crews as it has its applications in battle.

**Codex: Real-Time Command &amp; Communications**

Standard command hardware used by militaries everywhere, Real-Time Command &amp; Communications systems offer commanders a wide range of options in commanding their forces and adapting to the fluidity of battlefield situations. Often using either satellite scans of the battlefield, existing maps, or field specialists/drones with communications and recording equipment, RTC&amp;C allows commanders to quickly observe the battlefield and issue orders.

The system allows commanders to issue orders through navigation points, alongside short pre-made messages. RTC&amp;C is usually seen in larger military operations that have a dedicated command center due to the equipment needed to function, though Dreadnaughts and most flagships have their Combat Information Centers built with RTC&amp;C in mind. The hardware is typically an array of holographic projectors with VIs constantly updating the holographic map of the battlefield for the commander to use as information comes in. Conversely, the system allows soldiers to receive relatively precise orders without compromising the ability to relay them verbally through standard communications channels.

However, despite the vast potential in combat usage the system has been criticized for requiring special communications equipment to be deployed amongst soldiers on the ground or vehicles dedicated to scanner and communications to take full advantage of the system. The Systems Alliance is well known to be working on simplified, but more compact version that could be outfitted into the standard hardsuits, as well as a mobile command version to be issued to commanders working far away from command centers. The Salarian Union is rumored to have developed such a system already, but the Union denies such claims.


	9. Priority: New Suracusae - Defense

**New Syracusae**

**Planetary Defense Force Command Center**

"Sir Etel, a Knight Hospitaller, of House Shepard," Etel said, bowing to the noble approaching them. The noble also gave a short bow in response.

"Lady Khalisah, of House al-Jilani. I am in charge of New Syracusae... or what is left of it," she said, looking over the group. "I thought the long range comms were down?"

"They are," Etel confirmed. "We originally came here to do a favor I owned to someone. We were dropped in to reinforce your defenses, while our ship is heading out to get a fleet here."

"Good. We need everything we can," al-Jilani said. "I heard you had some Alliance people with you?"

"Yes. This is Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, Alliance Navy," Etel said, gesturing to Williams.

"Madam," Williams saluted al-Jilani who nodded in return.

"Williams? Any relation to general Williams of Shanxi?"

"My grandfather," Williams answered, her lip curling briefly in confusion.

"Great. How much have you brought with you?" al-Jilani asked. "We could not track you on our C&amp;C." Etel wondered for a moment before realizing what she meant with her question.

"I'm sorry?" Williams asked, before pointing her thumb behind her to the _Normandy_'s ground team. "Sorry to say, but this is it."

"What? A bunch of ragtag misfits?" al-Jilani said, pinching her nose. "I would have thought someone of the Williams line would have more," Etel tried to gesture for al-Jilani to stop without raising too much attention.

"Well excuse me for not being pampered noble," Williams shot back, before pausing as she seemed to realize what she had just blurted out.

"Bah. Commoners playing Nobles. No understanding of responsibility," al-Jilani snarled as she shook her head. "I hope you know what you are doing, sir knight, associating with them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a colony to defend," she said to Etel coldly before turning away and walking out of the room.

"What a bitch," Jenkins muttered. Sergeant Hawk simply shook his head.

"She's not normally that bad," Hawk explained as he rolled his shoulders, "she's just been under a lot of pressure lately," Hawk rubbed back of his neck before continuing. "Though it's partially our fault too, we didn't have time to fully integrate you into the network, so you could receive data, but not send it."

"You had to start shooting and Shepard would of been the one giving updates anyways, so that's fine," Williams continued before she turned towards where al-Jilani had gone and waved her hand in the general direction. "But her? What the hell was that even about? What did she expect me to have with me?" Williams asked.

"She assumed that you were a Noble and thus, you would at least have an honor guard with you. A squad or two of veteran troops," Etel explained as she shook her head at the whole situation.

"Why does every Imperial we meet think I'm a noble?!" Williams asked angrily, throwing her arms into the air before sighing. "This is going to be a common occurrence, isn't it?" Etel merely nodded, causing Williams shoulders to slump in defeat.

"Why didn't she bitch about you not having a guard unit with you, though?" Jenkins asked Etel. "I mean, you actually _are_ a noble."

"I introduced myself a knight. That means I am here not as a member of my House, but as a member of my Order," Etel explained. "She probably thought that normally I would have my squad with me, before I said that this was originally a small favor run," she shrugged. "Well, we can worry about that later. You should bunk up somewhere, get some rest while we can. I will try to find Tali, if she is here."

"ETEL! Can't believe it's you!" a voice interrupted her. The group turned to see the source of the shout, seeing a young quarian running towards them, a shotgun latched onto her suit's backside.

"Hi Tali," Etel said with a smile, feeling tension to leave her body. "Good to see you are still okay."

"When they said a knight from House Shepard had arrived, I was sure they were pulling my leg," Tali said, coming to a stop just before crashing into Etel. "You brought help? A chapter of knights? Basil and his tanker buddies? Things are bad."

"I gathered as much," Etel nodded, looking over the ruined landscape. "Sorry to disappoint, but this is all I've got," she gestured towards the group. The Alliance soldiers waved back, while turians merely nodded and Wrex simply continued to pick bits of geth shrapnel from his armor.

"Sorry, didn't expect to run into a full-scale invasion on my way here."

"Well, having you here is better than nothing, Etel."

"Any idea why the geth are here?" Etel asked, looking around the complex.

"I... I'm not sure if I should tell you," Tali answered, looking over the group. "Then again, you're probably going to see it anyways, so here we go," she shrugged. "This place was developing the Archimedes Project, and they hired me a few weeks ago to work on it."

"Oh," Etel said as she put two and two together. "That explains the oversized heat sink we saw earlier."

"Yeah… the local PDF has been hard pressed and Duchess' House Guard is almost gone."

"And there's still more coming," Nihlus pointed out as he stepped forward. "We hampered their artillery assets and destroyed some of their husk making spikes, but we saw at least two more firebases on our way here. No artillery, though, so the only long range strikes we'll have to deal with should be orbital."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tali suddenly exclaimed. "There was a geth scout before the attack, the local defenses managed to shoot it down. I got some data out of it and it sounded suspicious, especially with the attack on Eden Prime. I tried to send it to C-Sec, but then the attack came and we lost the comms."

"You sent it?" Etel asked, looking over at Tali, flabbergasted at the sheer chance.

"Yeah. It was some strange sound file, as if the scout ship had been serving as a relay point at some point and it had been stuck in the RAM."

"Guess we have to thank you then," Williams said with a faint smile. "That data helped us to convince the Council that Saren was hiding something."

Etel smiled to herself. "If it weren't against the Faith, I would brag right now," she said, looking over Nihlus who gave an amused snort.

"I think it also says in the scriptures that saying that you are not going to brag also counts," Tali said, wagging her finger in front of Etel teasingly. Etel merely shrugged.

"They also say we are not perfect. So call it my flaw, if you want," she said with a smirk as a man dressed in an engineering suit walked up to them.

"Excuse me, Sir Knight," he said,"but I must request miss 'Zorah to rejoin the engineers. I think we found the source of the problem, but we don't know how to fix it."

"Very well. See you later, Tali."

"Take care, Etel," Tali said and followed the man, two of them starting to talk in terms that made it sound like they were discussing in an entirely different language from the rest.

"Um..." Hawk said, looking uncomfortable for a moment.

"Go ahead, Sergeant. You have permission to speak freely," Etel said, noticing him shifting on his feet awkwardly.

"Well... I am not sure, I do not know miss 'Zorah that well, but wasn't that kind of rude of her? Calling you by your given name?" he asked, gesturing towards the direction Tali had went.

"She is an old friend of mine. I've known her since she was five," Etel responded, waving her arm. "She has the right to call me by any name she wants."

"Well, if you say so," Hawk shrugged before nodding. "I need to check on my men and prepare to link up with the defenses. I trust someone here can help you to find some place to rest and take you to the command center. With your permission?"

"We will see you later, Sergeant. Good luck and happy hunting."

"Thank you, ma'am," Hawk said and gave a bow, before leaving.

"Alright, let's get our gear stowed somewhere. That Mako looks like it needs repairs," Etel said, earning nods from the others.

After asking around, the squad moved the Mako to one of the more secure parts of the base, alongside their gear. Sleeping space was premium at the moment, with the barracks being reserved for the civilians who had sought shelter in the base. They eventually settled for a waiting room near al-Jilani's command center, but before the Alliance soldiers could move on to repair the Mako al-Jilani asked for Williams to be present and the others chose to wait outside. Two engineers offered to fix the Mako while they waited, but Williams declined the aid for reasons that Etel could not understand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The command center was a round shaped room, with most of it dominated by a large circular holodisplay table. It had a touch screen on it, allowing commanders to adjust it to various views of the colony for tactical usage. Right now, the display showed the layout of the colony, with symbols for both Imperial and geth troops imposed on it. Most of the geth formations were waiting outside the city or in the strong points within they had maintained when the PDF counterattacked after the artillery was silenced. But despite the counterattack earlier, stalemate ensued as the sheer losses the local forces had taken beforehand caught up with their momentum and they had to drop back.

"We have a defensive line here," al-Jilani said, pointing towards several clustered PDF troops, marked in green. "With that artillery silenced, we can reinforce them without fearing that they will be bombed on the way," Etel looked over the screen, taking in the tactical situation while Nihlus and Williams were looking it over themselves nearby.

"Your troops are spread thin," Etel noted as she looked at some of the troop number reports on the display. "Not a lot of strength in any one area."

"Yes, I'm aware. There are still civilians who need rescuing. Most of them should be safe now, so I have called all units who can to return here or to specific firebases that have been set up. Hopefully we can then push the enemy away from the city."

"It won't be enough," Etel said, shaking her head. "They will never get through that siege line, not without heavy support."

"I know that," al-Jilani snapped. "I've known that for the last eight hours and also know that we cannot simply close the gates and let them continue to hold the initiative. However, we may not need to completely retake it. Depending how fast the fleet can muster a relief force, we simply need to hold out until they arrive."

"What do the geth want?" Etel asked, though she suspected she knew the answer already. Al-Jilani looked over at Williams, shaking her head.

"I should not share this information, but with the present situation…" She inhaled sharply, as if to brace herself, then continued talking. "They're after the Archimedes mobile GARDIAN system that is being developed here. We are trying to get it up and running, but it's a prototype for a reason," she explained. "Don't ask me for details, I just host the R&amp;D base. I have no role the development itself. That is all on General Lionheart and his scientists."

"Can we use it? GARDIAN can boil the hulls of dreadnaughts and ignore K-barriers. It might be useful if we run into more of those larger geth walkers," Williams asked.

"Colossi," Nihlus cut in. "The walkers you engaged are Colossus variants of the Armature."

"Thanks," Williams said as she turned back to the Duchess. "So, could we use it? If more of those show up the armor's in trouble."

Al-Jilani shook her head in response. "Like I said, we haven't manage to get it up and running. It was on a static mount down at the labs. They managed to move it onto a mobile chassis - cannibalized one from an old V-36 Lupus that was rusting away - but now it refuses to work. Not to mention, it still has a lot of other problems," she looked over the tactical view, pressing view markers for different squads and moving them around. Lines followed her hand movement. "That should reinforce our front line for the moment. Anyway, we have people trying to get it running, mainly technicians who can't fight. Any extra firepower is welcome at this point, so we're throwing the heat sink."

"What's your plan?" Etel asked, looking over the tactical display. Units al-Jilani had marked earlier had confirmed that they had received the orders and were moving to their new positions.

"Most of the base is underground, yes?"

"Yes. The main entrances are here, here and here," al-Jilani nodded and highlighted three locations. "I ordered one of them collapsed, they should not be able to get in through sixty tons of bedrock. Two others are reasonably close to each other, in the city itself near our main highway. We plan to keep them away from the entrances as long as we can, but if they get in, we'll collapse the entrance they take when they try to enter. Then fight to last man and woman defending that last one."

"Let's pray it does not come that," Etel said grimly, looking over the display as Nihlus folded his arms as he quietly analyzed the situation.

"Bishop Richelieu has been busy holding sermons, spending his time trying to reassure everyone and help them through this," al-Jilani explained as she looked up briefly before sighing. "Let's hope that the Lord hears our prayers and doesn't have anything more pressing to do."

"Amen," Etel agreed. Whatever divine aid they were blessed with was something that she had no intention of using lightly. "Assuming the worst case scenario, that the local patrol fleets are out at the moment, we can expect reinforcements to arrive in about three days. We should plan our defenses based on that."

"What is the best case scenario?" Williams asked as she looked around, shaking her head at a nearby view screen displaying the Argos Rho star map as she folded her arms. "I mean, this place is supposed to be top secret, or at least working on a major project. There should be a response force nearby for that if nothing else."

"Plausible," Etel agreed. A response force would make sense.

"There is a special detachment in the Hydra system. Nominally they are there for border security, but they have extra ships compared to normal patrols. Assuming they immediately leave after receiving the message, it would take about twelve hours, Nod standard," al-Jilani said. "However, I would assume that it will take them closer to 24 hours, since Admiral Attia _will _be wary of an Alliance vessel."

"Where is the next attack anticipated to be coming from?" Etel asked, looking over the defensive formations and noting their relative locations.

"The next attack seems to be coming from here," al-Jilani said, marking a location and direction along the main highway. "However, it would be not the first time they would pull a feint. It's the reason why we collapsed the third entrance."

"Hmm..." Etel marked several units and several new locations. "If we move these units here and here, they can support the main defensive line at the highway, but not leave themselves open for a flanking attack. It would also make reinforcing them easier."

"I see. I will trust your judgment on this, Sir Knight," al-Jilani said, marking the orders as approved. Soon, the unit icons flashed as the orders were confirmed to be have been received. "I am however worried about this line," the Duchess said, highlighting a half strength platoon on one of the routes into the highway near a geth position. "They lost their commander and I don't have anyone to spare, nor are any of the squad leaders up to the task. I'm sending a tank to help them, but they need a leader as much as they need firepower."

"We can reinforce it and from a command squad there," Etel said confidently. Nihlus nodded in approval and Williams unfolded her arms.

"Good. I'll send Sergeant Hawk's squad with you, but until then I suggest you get to it," al-Jilani said. Etel gave a short bow. _No reason to be rude_, she thought and left the command center, Nihlus and Williams following behind her. They returned to the rest of the team who were waiting outside. Alenko was doing something with his omni-tool and it looked like he was checking his biotic amp. Jenkins and Garrus were cleaning their weapons, while Wrex was taking a nap.

"Wrex," Alenko said as he prodded the krogan.

The krogan stirred and looked at him. "Kaidan?"

"They're back," the Alliance biotic nodded towards them and the krogan glanced over, sitting up as they walked into the waiting room.

"Alright, we got a plan. We will link up with an understrength platoon and try to help them hold the line," Etel said as they approached the center of the group. She turned towards the Alliance soldiers, Williams having drifted towards them. "You guys rest and fix the Mako, while I head over and organize them. Here are the coordinates," she said, sending the nav point to their omni-tools. "If you hear that an attack is coming, head there. Take the Mako with you, if it's combat ready by then," after a round of affirmatives, she turned and left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes after Shepard had left, a young quarian came to the group. Ashley recognized her immediately. It was Tali. _The whole point of this run, and she just so happened to be the source of the evidence,_ she thought in amusement. There was a point to everything, she just had to try and figure out what it was.

"Excuse me, is Etel still here?" she asked the group, looking around. The turians had gone to find some dextro-amino rations, while Wrex was sleeping nearby as the Alliance soldiers were patching the Mako up.

"Sorry, she just left to go organize a platoon. She should be back later though. Can we help you?" Ashley asked, taking a moment to try and get a feel for the quarian. Unfortunately, the opaque faceplate left little to really see. The only clues that Ashley could get of the young woman was that of her dark environmental suit with light clothing of a light violet shade worn over it, the lone piece over her torso held together by a single brooch. The hood Tali wore immediately reminded Ashley of the style worn in Southwest Asia and colonists descended from those countries.

"No," Tali said with a shrug. "I just wanted to catch up with her."

"Why don't you sit down, tell us about her?" Kaidan asked, gesturing to an empty box. Tali hesitated for a moment before sitting down.

"We used to be close, until her duty to the Hospitallers took most of her time," the young quarian explained. "We used to play a lot, though it was mostly her humoring me. Age difference, and by the time I was old enough for us to really enjoy the same things she was off being a knight in shining armor."

"She was kind of restrained, considering the worry she seemed to have on the _Normandy_," Ashley commented. Tali gave a short laugh as she shook her head.

"Oh, that's just her trying to uphold her dignity as a Noble. You should have seen her when she was younger. A real troublemaker," Tali said, gesturing with her hands.

"We keep hearing that," Ashley said, grinning to herself as she remembered the incident mentioned by that volus merchant on the Citadel. "Claimed to be some 'Imperial Consort'," Ashley air quoted the term.

"Oh, that's just the peak of the mountain," Tali nodded, waving her hand. Ashley was finding it increasingly difficult to read the other woman's emotions, being unable to see her face. "She calmed down a lot as she grew up, responsibilities of being a Noble and all. Even she isn't going to inherit any of her parents' duties."

"What about you? You were on some pilgrimage?" Kaidan asked. "You're visiting some holy sites or something like that?"

"Actually, no. I am trying to find out about the galaxy," Tali answered casually. "My parents moved to the Empire when I was young. I can barely remember my time on the Migrant Fleet. Auntie Raan, aunt on my mother's side, she visits us occasionally. She still lives on board those ships wandering the stars."

"So, what are you trying to find out?" Ashley asked curiously.

"Nothing in particular. Apparently, it's a tradition on the Flotilla to send young quarians on a 'Pilgrimage' to learn about the world. They are supposed to return with something valuable to the fleet. As my father put it, it was a way of proving our worth."

"So, send the young ones to the wolves, see who's good enough to come back?" Jenkins asked suddenly, leaning against the Mako. Ashley glared at him and made a mental note to give Jenkins a lesson about tact when they were back on the _Normandy_. Fortunately, Tali didn't seem to be offended.

"Yeah, I always wondered about that," Tali shrugged. "My father explained it as being about proving themselves, but I never understood why they had to leave to do that. Thankfully, there's lots of quarians in the Empire these days from three hundred years of immigration, so they can always find some help," she paused, glancing towards the open bay door where a pair of old looking tanks with a double tread drivetrain were being rolled in and a mechanic made a very annoyed comment about them. "Anyways, I wanted to find more about my people and the galaxy in the general."

"So how did you get recruited to this project? Seems kind of big deviation from your original goal."

"Well, I can't say much, military secrets, but I kind of attracted attention after I worked on few ships. I've always been good with tech," Tali said, rubbing the back of her neck and looking away.

"And so some noble recruited you?" Jenkins asked incredulously. "Just like that?"

"Well, he did have me go through few tests, but in essence, yeah."

"You must be extremely intelligent," Kaidan said as he leaned forward. "Not a lot of kids are bright enough to get pulled into military R&amp;D."

"I'm twenty-two, I'm not a kid," Tali shot back. Kaidan immediately recoiled, fumbling as he tried to apologize before the quarian continued. "I'm sorry, that was mean. But I finished my college education, full honors. How much did Etel say about me?"

Ashley immediately remembered the hyperbole Shepard had said. "Well, she said you could make a barrel do precision jumps with some eezo and omni-gel," Tali laughed at that.

"Well, it didn't do a precision jump, but it did reach low orbit before a micrometeorite ripped it apart."

"So, combat tech?" Kaidan asked. "I've been running some Overload programs on my omni-tool, but I'm curious what you use."

"The whole range," she explained. "It's amazing how much you can do with a disc a few centimeters wide flash forged from omni-gel. Disrupt shields, overheat someone's gun if you manage to hit it, override a drone… you name it, and my Nexus can do it."

Kaidan smirked. "A Nexus omni-tool? I'm kind of surprised, wouldn't a bullet wound be horrific for you? I mean, with the suit and all. The Nexus line's shields are way behind the curve."

Tali turned and Ashley again found herself hating that she could not see the woman's face. Ashley had never appreciated how important facial language was until it was removed entirely.

"It's not like I'd die from a single gunshot. I can take care of myself. Besides, you need a Nexus to run multiple attack programs."

"Eh, I'll stick to my Logic Arrest. Better at medi-gel dispersal anyways," the Alliance technician shrugged as he glanced at the Mako. "Okay, I need to check that gun again. What the hell did Garrus do to the gun? Miscalibrate it?"

"No idea," Ashley answered, "but it's still functioning; considering the beating it took it's working well enough for what we need. We can save the precision repairs for the _Normandy_. We just need to get it working."

"Yes ma'am," Kaidan answered with a nod as he read a diagnostic scan.

"You want me to help?" Tali offered. "Maybe I can fix it."

"Thanks, but we can handle it," Ashley answered immediately. Even if the Mako's internals were relatively standard, she still did not want an Imperial poking around the systems. Besides, it wasn't like the Alliance couldn't maintain its own vehicles without the Empire holding its hand.

"Alright," Tali paused and Ashley was relatively sure that if Tali's face was visible, and had a similar facial structure to humans, she would be blushing in embarrassment. "Oh, how rude of me. I never got your names."

"Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, Alliance Navy," Ashley answered before nodding to the others.

"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, ditto," Kaidan chimed in as he minimized the diagnostic.

"Corporal Richard Jenkins, likewise."

"And the krogan?" Tali asked.

"Urdnot Wrex," Ashley supplied. "But I'd rather not wake him."

"I can still hear you," he said, startling them before he chuckled and adjusted himself briefly.

"So," Jenkins asked to restart the conversation, "quarians in the Empire?"

"Pretty simple, really. The Empire offered to take quarians in after we lost our homeworld, some of us, like my parents, accepted in hopes of a better life. Not much to say. So what about you? I mean, I've never met anyone from the Alliance before. I wasn't sure what to expect."

"Really?" Kaidan asked as he folded his arms. "Why's that?"

"Well," Tali explained as she put a hand to the back of her neck awkwardly. "I mean, ever since I entered school here in the Empire, I was taught all about God's wonders and His hand in mankind's evolution, and the schools always talked about how God must have sent prophets again to Earth after Peter the Second, but…"

"But that didn't happen," Ashley supplied, "instead Earth was found and it had a lot of cultures, some of which don't even believe in God."

"Yeah," Tali answered. "I mean, doesn't that contradict a lot of what the Empire teachings? This is why I went on my own version of a quarian Pilgrimage - to see it for myself," the quarian paused and looked at Ashley. "Wait, you're faithful?"

"Not the same denomination as the Empire," Ashley added quickly. "Though, no offense but we have more important issues at hand."

The quarian nodded. "Not a problem. It's not my business, though you'll probably get asked that a lot."

"Story of my life the last few days," she retorted, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. The fact that she was constantly being presumed to be of the same cloth that the Empire was just because of her faith was starting to grate on her as well.

"It's not so bad," Kaidan said with a smirk. "They tend to assume you're pretty high on the food chain at least."

"Laugh it up, Kaidan," she retorted as she shook her head with a grin before noticing that a man was walking towards them. Ashley recognized the style of his clothing immediately, priestly garb, and pegged him as some sort of chaplain.

"Can we help you?" Jenkins asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"No," the man answered, "though if you wish, there is a service being held in the meeting room nearby."

"We're not being expected there, are we?" Jenkins asked, an uneasy edge to his voice.

"No, you have your duties, but I wanted to inform you that there are services if you wish to attend."

Ashley glanced at Jenkins and shook her head slightly. He glanced at her and nodded. "Thank you, but as you said we're busy."

The chaplain nodded slowly. "Our doors are always open if you have a chance and wish to pray," he walked away as calmly as he had come.

"Nice guy," Kaidan said without any hint of sarcasm. "Though, I don't think he expected any of us to take it up."

Ashley shrugged. "Probably not. Though," she glanced over at the other mechanics working on their vehicles or repairing damaged weapons, "if there ever was a time to pray, it's now."

"Though, something I'm curious about," Kaidan said as he leaned forward. "How does the Empire handle the whole three daily prayers during sieges?"

"It's usually considered acceptable to miss it due to calamities like this, though a lot of soldiers tend to at least do a short one if there's a lull," Tali explained as she sat down on an empty barrel. "You'd have to ask a theologian about the details, but only the crazies say that it needs to be done in full no matter what."

"Huh," Jenkins said to himself as he reached for his shotgun and checked it again. They continued to chat for a few more minutes, before Tali had to leave again and the team returned to doing a final check on the Mako.

"I still want to do some fine tuning," Kaidan said as the diagnostic finished.

"We don't have time to strip down the cannon," Ashley answered. "As long as it's good enough to roll and fight, we should get it up to the front and get familiar with where we'll be fighting. Someone want to wake Wrex up?"

Jenkins backed away and Kaidan sighed. "Sure, I'll do it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

"Welcome to Palm Boulevard," Etel said with a nod as Williams, Alenko, and Nihlus disembarked from the Mako, the other three following them out. The Alliance marines had their helmets on, though everyone else, including Etel, had them in their hands.

"Looks like you've been busy," Alenko said as he looked at the three machine gun nests arrayed. Two were street level, one on each side of the road and with rubble, sandbags, and prefabricated metal slaps deployed to fortify them. The third machine gun nest was in a taller building behind them overlooking the street.

"Indeed," Etel answered as she gestured for them to follow. "Sergeant Hawk is busy with his squad on the trench line, helping fortify it further. The other three Sergeants here are Manson, al-Fulani, and Lysanor."

"A trench line in the middle of the city?" Williams asked as they followed her into a small building that had part of the wall blown out. "That desperate, huh? That's going to really muck up the plumbing and electricity in the area."

Etel nodded slowly. "They weren't inclined to do it, but given that they're understrength, they decided that they would rather have to spend extra hours fixing everything than die from not having enough defenses."

A pair of soldiers snapped to attention as they approached and Etel nodded to them. "At ease." The two relaxed as they entered the makeshift command post with a small tactical display generated by a nearby computer and holographic gaming rig modified into an emergency holomap. Etel laid her helmet on the table and typed in her access to boot up the system.

"We're here," Etel said as she focused it towards the boulevard they were defending, "and if the geth want to get to the main highway by this road they have to take it. Everything around us is either blown to untraversable rubble or its part of the river that runs through this portion of the city."

"So they're all coming in in front of us," Nihlus said with a nod, "and we can concentrate our defenses in blocking the approach."

Etel nodded. "We have three machine gun nests and a half dozen missile launchers - all reusable and we managed to get a crate of rockets for them. Hawk already made sure they were distributed, so we'll have plenty of anti-armor. The trench line is here," she pointed her finger to it and highlighted the area where it was dug, connecting the two forward machine gun nests.

"A second line is up thirty meters back with one long trench connecting the two so we can run between as needed, or if the first one gets taken and we lose the forward nests anyone trying to use it to avoid the last machine gun instead gets shot the whole way forward. The trench line goes into the nearby shops and there will be several soldiers holding each one as it marks the edge of our perimeter."

"Looks rather shallow for a trench," Alenko commented. "Most of it is the rubble piled up as cover with some pavement blown away and dug under. I take it this area took a beating?"

"A lot of artillery," Etel answered as she shook her head, the unwelcome memory of seeing the dead civilians crushed under the fallen buildings coming back to her. The understrength platoon had moved the dead away to make room to prepare the defenses. Even then, the image was still a sight that disturbed her. "So, the Mako is working?" she asked to move her mind away from that.

"It is," Williams answered as she looked to Nihlus. "Though, I'm not sure how useful it will be here. Not a lot of room to move it."

"We could fortify it as a turret," Nihlus suggested. "Hull down and set up some of the rubble around it to keep it safe, then use the main gun to suppress the geth moving forward. It would be a good addition to the machine gun nests."

"I'm not sure," Etel answered as she rubbed her chin. "We only survived getting nailed by those Colossi because we moved. I'm not sure the Mako could handle that and I already overrode Big Bertha's crew wanting to hull down into a turret here."

"I guess the question is," Williams cut in, "do you want me, Alenko, and Jenkins on foot or in a vehicle?"

"On foot," she answered. "We need everybody up front and we would probably be more useful using our rifles than driving a tank. There are a few men in Manson's squad who could-"

"What about a VI?" Alenko suggested. "Spectre Kryik-"

"Just call me Nihlus," the turian interrupted with a wave of his hand.

"Sorry. Nihlus, do you think the two of us and Garrus could rig a VI for the Mako?"

Etel perked up at the lieutenant's suggestion. "What are you thinking of?"

"Rig the Mako's turret with a VI and hull down. Make a turret out of it, then have us designate targets. We've got targeting lasers that we can slap onto our rifles, right?"

"I've got one," Garrus said from the chair he had sat down in, sniper rifle in hand as he was calibrating the scope.

"And you would be staying back anyways," Nihlus added as he looked at the younger turian. "Lieutenant, the three of us could easily rig a VI and you could connect it to the Mako's systems, then Vakarian can take up a spotter and sniper position nearby and designate targets with his targeting laser to provide us with more advanced fire support. The autoloaders should still be intact, but in the worst case scenario he can man the turret himself."

Williams shifted uncomfortably as Garrus nodded. "I can handle that."

"Good, then let's do it. Williams, the Mako is an Alliance vehicle so you should probably handle that."

"Okay, and what about after that's done?" she asked. "Jenkins and I could probably drop anywhere."

"The rest of us will be up front," Etel explained, pointing at the trench line. "We need to keep the geth back. You and Jenkins are probably going to be the most useful there. We have a few designated marksmen, but most Imperial soldiers only carry two weapons, and most of them favor shotguns like the Scimitar instead of sniper rifles. I'd like you and Jenkins to be up front picking off targets at range, then switching as you see fit to adapt to the situation up front. Wrex, myself, and Nihlus can move around and throw ourselves into any holes that get made in the trench line."

"And I'm with the medics?" Alenko said as he checked the medi-gel he had put in an arm mounted medkit he had likely borrowed from the garrison.

"And providing biotic or tech support," she added. "You've got a wide skillset that can help where it's needed, but if we're being pressed I want you to be ready to stop being a medic and help us push the geth back."

He nodded slowly. "I understand; I'll focus on stabilizing and getting wounded to the other medics so I can help up front."

"Just be careful, the three of us," Etel gestured to herself, Wrex, and Alenko, "we're the only biotics we have here."

"Anything else we should know before we go?" Williams asked.

"Just introduce yourself to some of the troops," Etel said as she glanced out the broken window. "And if any of them give you problems about being Alliance tell them they can talk to me about it."

"I doubt we'll have any problems," Alenko said as he glanced to Jenkins, who was looking perfectly innocent as he was leaning against the wall studying the holomap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A Few Hours Later**

"_Alert. Alert. Hostile presence detected on the perimeter. All security personnel, report to your positions,"_ a VI's voice sounded throughout the various Imperial communications channels and intercoms, and increasingly the loud sound of explosions and mass accelerators being fired filled the air. Soldiers were shouting orders and acknowledgements back and forth, filling the comm channels to the point where Ashley had to silence several she had been listening in on to try and gauge the situation.

"Well then, time to go," Shepard said as she stood up from the wooden chair she had sat in in the makeshift command post that had been set up. They had been waiting for the attack to come their way, planning out a defensive strategy to maximize what they had and setting up a plan of retreat if all went to hell.

Ashley nodded as she rose. _"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our geth dead."_

"I'm pretty sure it's 'English dead'," Kaidan said as he checked his pistol, grinning.

"Meh, close enough," Ashley answered with a shrug. She suspected that the original line would not have made much sense to Shepard anyways. They grabbed any of the weapons they had left on the table or propped against the wall and checked the heat sinks as they headed out of the building and moved up to join the defensive line.

"Garrus, get ready to target," Shepard ordered as the six jumped into the trench network, soldiers all around them hurrying to their positions and shouting orders.

"_I'm ready,"_ Garrus answered via the radio, _"just tell me whenever you want a particular target highlighted. Looks like the first wave is rather light, though. No Armatures in sight but they're sticking to the buildings."_

"I see them!" Hawk shouted as they took their positions at the front trench and looked at Shepard. "Just give the order, mi'lady."

Ashley switched to her sniper rifle and gestured for Jenkins to do the same as Shepard nodded. "Light them up as soon as they enter range."

The machine gun nests blazed to life as geth infantry began to cross a street ahead, the machine gun on the building having the best vantage point as the geth were sprinting into the building nearby in pairs. Some pairs made it past intact, others were hit by the machine gun or the Mako's main gun as Garrus directed its fire towards the building they were gathering in.

A sniper round went over Ashley's head, grazing her kinetic barrier and she ducked. "Did you see that?" she asked Jenkins.

"I saw it," he answered, rising out of cover just enough to target the sniper and he took the shot before ducking as two more rounds shot towards him, one hitting his kinetic barrier and dropping it while the other hit the rubble. "Damn it, missed!"

"_I see them,"_ Garrus answered and a sniper shot went overhead. Ashley peeked out of the trench and nodded as she saw a geth scurrying back into cover before leaning out again and taking a shot at the other sniper as it tried to hit Jenkins again. She hit the sniper in the chest, but its kinetic barrier withstood the hit.

"Too far," Ashley muttered in annoyance as the Imperial soldiers opened fire with their M-8 Avenger rifles, Wrex's heavy and probably illegally modified assault rifle easily discernable from the rest of the fired weapons. "Garrus, have the Mako hose the snipers!"

"_Better idea,"_ another voice cut in as the machine gun nest opposite of the geth advance opened fire, _"This is Bloodhound; aiming at the floral shop ahead! Gunner, FIRE!"_

Ashley glanced out and saw the shell hit the shop where the snipers had taken cover and smirked as the two snipers were blown out of their perch and sent tumbling to street level.

"Good hit Bloodhound!" Shepard shouted as she stopped firing her assault rifle and switched to her shotgun. "Geth infantry closing in, they're going for the right flank!"

Ashley nodded as she put her sniper rifle away and reached for her M-7 Lancer. "Jenkins, grab your shotgun and help hold the line, I'll stay out here suppress them."

"Yes ma'am!" he answered as he hurried down the trench line, Ashley following and taking up a position outside the building the machine gun nest was set up next do. Jenkins moved in front of it where Shepard, Wrex, and Nihlus had also set up with their shotguns and were keeping the geth from moving forward, shredding a Destroyer that tried to get close enough to burn them out of the building as the machine gun had been set up with a clear firing line into the door.

As Ashley stopped firing to let her rifle cool down she ducked into cover and saw Hawk's comm officer next to her. She tugged his arm. "Hey, trooper! Gerald, right?"

"Yes, mi- uh, ma'am," he said as he winced as an explosion showered bits of pavement onto the communications pack he was wearing. "Something you need?"

"How're we doing elsewhere?" she asked.

"Other places are being hit but I'll get an updated," he said as he activated his omni-tool.

Ashley nodded and rose out of cover again, taking out one of the more advanced geth trooper platforms that was trying to deploy hex shaped kinetic barriers at the windows to stop the other machine guns from pelting the window. She smirked as she reached for a grenade and hurled it into the building as the barrier dropped and the machine gun nest firing at the building halted. Going through the barrier it exploded.

"_Thank you whoever threw that grenade!"_ Hawk shouted as the constant shotgun blasts ceased.

"No problem!" she answered as she turned to Gerald as he released his hand from his helmet radio.

"Other strongpoints are being hit with similar waves," he explained, "Attacks on all sectors, but the main wave isn't here yet. It seems like they're just testing the defenses."

"Thank you," Ashley said with a nod. Gerald moved towards the machine gun nest as Hawk called him while she stayed in her position and continued to suppress the geth trying to move forward through the buildings. Some geth were firing back, but most had been trying to take out the machine gun nest.

"_Incoming aircraft!"_ Gerald shouted into the radio. Ashley immediately looked up as she saw the geth dropship moving towards and hurled herself to the floor of the trench, several rockets impacting around their position. The fact that they were technically at the mercy of the geth ships maintaining holding positions in orbit rose in her stomach uncomfortably as she pushed herself from the ground after the strike.

"_How bad were we hit?"_ Shepard asked through the radio as Ashley's ears were ringing.

"_Wasn't a guided spread, mostly to suppress- SHIT! Geth walker and heavy infantry ahead! Fire, damn it, FIRE!"_ Ashley looked out and saw that the geth ship had air dropped a walker and several larger units such as Destroyers with sized down machine guns.

"_Focusing the Mako on that Armature!"_ Garrus called out as Bloodhound opened fire, followed by the Mako and both street level machine gun nests turning their attention to the large geth walker and the geth infantry. The geth walker leaned back and propped itself up on its legs and the eye glowed as it was charging to fire.

"Move!" Ashley shouted as she realized it was aiming for their side of the trench. "They're firing this way, take cover!" One soldier had risen with a missile launcher and had fired after the Armature let the blue pulse go and Ashley grabbed him, dragging him down as the pulse overshot them narrowly.

Narrowly. The next thing Ashley knew she was sent tumbling headfirst into the scrap metal that they were using to fortify the trench and blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**One Hour Later**

The geth wave had been dealt with steadily, keeping them away from their position and unable to advance. Though this was not without casualties amongst the PDF troops, even with the Mako and Conqueror's main guns minimizing the damage done by the Destroyers. Etel shook her head as they pulled the injured back with Alenko tending to them. Williams had been hurt, but not badly and most of her injury had come from the head first collision with the side of the trench. Her helmet prevented it from giving her more than a mild concussion, and with some painkillers and a stimulant to counteract the concussion, she was active again.

The Armature itself was destroyed rather quickly afterwards thanks to multiple missile launchers hitting it. They had been kept in reserve precisely to wait for the geth to try to use a surprise armor attack, and the machine guns had completely whittled away its kinetic barriers enabling their vehicular main guns to destroy it. The surviving geth infantry had fallen back and holed up in the buildings ahead, maintaining a small command post that was neutralized with a small raid that Nihlus lead containing Wrex, Jenkins, and Williams.

"How is he?" Etel asked as she knelt next to the soldier that the Alliance biotic was tending to.

"He'll be okay," Alenko said as he finished binding the wound and put the damaged plate of his hardsuit back on. "The medi-gel should keep him stable and fighting as long as we need to, but I'd suggest we send him back for treatment."

She nodded. "Keep the injured in back and try to patch them up as much as possible while we have some downtime. We're going to need everyone we can get."

"I'll do my best," he said as he helped the soldier to his feet. Etel rose and walked back into the trench, nodding to the soldiers who were saluting her as she passed as they waited for the main push to arrive.

The geth's last push had everyone on edge, if only because it seemed wasteful. No husks had been seen amongst the attackers, which had been of great relief, but the cynical officers suspected they were being saved for the main push. The Duchess was with the cynics in that regard, and Etel had to agree with their assessment. The geth were synthetics - logical machines. It only made sense that they would save the tool for breaking the PDF's morale for when they committed.

She felt something land on her shoulders, then more and she looked up with a sigh as her faceplate immediately began to clean itself to keep her vision clear. "Of course it started raining."

"Look at it this way," Jenkins said suddenly, surprising her as she walked into the machine gun nest on the right flank. "The geth will rust."

"If only," Nihlus added, his mandibles twitching briefly as the rain steadily picked up from a sprinkle to a light downpour. "Going to make fighting in the trenches harder."

"If we couldn't handle a little mud we wouldn't of made it this far," Etel answered back with a shrug. "Let's just hope we don't get any in our wounds."

"_Here they come!"_ Wrex shouted from where he was.

Everyone hurried to their positions, with Etel joining Jenkins and Williams in the trench line as the geth were moving forward again with another wave. "You got to be kidding," Jenkins said as he switched to his sniper rifle, "How many do they have here? We've been killing these synthetics left and right!"

"They probably salvaged the ones we couldn't get to," Williams offered as she rose out of cover and picked off one of the geth with her sniper rifle as everyone began opening fire. "They're machines, omni-gel's probably like medi-gel for them!"

"Probably!" Etel answered as several geth shined differently running between buildings trying to close in. "Jenkins, we've got company in the buildings. Go help Manson's squad!"

"Got it!" he said as he moved through the trench line, switching to his shotgun as he went. Etel put hers away as she saw the geth enter the building just before the PDF soldiers defending the nest…

The geth charged out, three rushing towards the trench on her side while others were rushing through the buildings. Their shields were visible like a second skin of energy, absorbing the mass accelerator fire. Alenko overloaded one before throwing it out of the trench with biotics with its shields down, leaving it easy prey for Garrus. Williams and Nihlus tag teamed another one before Nihlus rushed into one of the machine gun nests to help with the ones attacking there.

And one leapt into the trench between Etel and the right machine gun, the crew focused on the geth trying to move in from their front. Etel reached for the geth with her biotics, pulling it right to her and she grabbed it, throwing it into the trench's wall and stabbing it with her omni-blade. The advanced kinetic barrier took the hit, but it dropped dangerously. The geth shoved her back, but she managed to grab the arm it had used to push her away and using it as leverage she pulled it after her.

Using the stumbling geth's arm, she pulled herself closer and shoved her shotgun directly into the back of the geth's head and pulled the trigger. The head had a large hole blown through it that went right through the other side and white fluid sprayed out from the hole she had just made before it collapsed forward into the trench's mud.

"Destroyer!" Williams shouted as Etel removed her now stained shotgun from the synthetic's head. A large geth vaulted over the rubble and into the trench, landing between them. Before she even was conscious of how much trouble they could have been in, Etel's hand shot out and knocked the flamethrower into the air as it loosed a torrent of flames that went over their heads, the assault platform facing Williams.

The Alliance marine reacted quickly, shooting it in the chest with her shotgun and kicking it in the leg, causing it to lose its balance and fall backwards, face up and splashing mud around them. Activating her omni-blade and surrounding it with a shaped biotic barrier, Etel leapt up and increased her mass with her biotics as she came crashing down, gutting the synthetic with her omni-blade and penetrating all the way through.

As she pulled her hand back and the disposable silicon-carbide blade remained stuck in the Destroyer's chest, two more geth stormed in at the other end of the trench. Both Etel and Williams reacted quickly, a shotgun blast from each hitting one of the geth troopers that had leapt in and knocked them onto their backs. Williams moved forward to cover the gap as Etel looked down as she heard a sharp whistle.

"Oh _fu-_" Her curse was cut short as she created a biotic barrier around her quickly as the Destroyer's fuel tank exploded. The barrier broke and she found herself slammed into the side of the trench, the world spinning before her eyes as she slid down and could smell something burning. A moment later someone was kneeling next to her and she felt someone patting her shoulder.

"You okay?" Williams asked, tilting her head towards her.

"I'm fine," she answered. "What are you…" she glanced to the side and noticed her tabard had been completely burnt and sighed. Wrex barreled into the gap the geth had made in the perimeter and closed it himself by shoving a table into the gap.

"Good thing your mother sent you a bunch, huh?" Williams teased as she grabbed Etel's hand and helped her up.

"Yes, it is," Etel admitted with a sigh as she loosened the burnt clasps and let the few bits of the tabard that remained fell to the ground as they threw themselves back into the fight. Stalemate had been achieved, geth infantry unable to make a push but they were keeping their positions held.

Several more soldiers took injuries or were killed and geth hardware was taken down as they tried to move forward. Radio chatter indicated that the situation was similar across the colony. The geth were pushing on them, but without their artillery the Imperial forces were holding. What perturbed Etel more, at least between bouts of trading fire and biotic attacks, was that there were no reports of the Collectors being involved in the attack waves.

The machine gun mounted on the building behind them broke down as a geth rocket trooper managed to hit the sandbags used to prepare it and injured the crew, but the weapon itself was said to be intact and the crew had grabbed rifles and were providing fire from above to try and make up for the lost heavy weapon.

"_Armature incoming!" _one of the soldiers shouted. Etel and Williams took cover behind some rubble, just as the machine opened fire, hitting Bloodhound and causing the gunner to swear as its main gun jammed. _"Shit, there are two of them!"_

"Damn it. They can cover each other," Williams cursed. "We won't be able to overwhelm them, not with those troopers supporting them."

Etel nodded, trying to take a peek at walkers. The two were indeed covering each other. Whenever one looked like its shield would falter, it would curl up and regenerate them while other one would keep the defenders busy. She felt an impact against her shields and pulled back as a geth sniper was taking shots at them.

"We need a plan," Etel said as she gestured for Jenkins, the Alliance grunt pulling out his sniper rifle.

"I'm open for suggestions," Williams responded, throwing a grenade at the Armatures. "We need to..." her voice trailed away. Etel peeked again to see what had caused such a reaction.

One of the Armatures was glowing, and not because of the rain running down its metal armor. No, it was like a spotlight had been focused on it, more and more, burning away the grime so that it looked as if it was just out of the assembly line and then glowed even shiner. It tried to fold itself up, but its legs snapped, causing it to fall into the ground head first. Its armor melted and the light went out of its eye.

"_I TOLD YOU IT WOULD WORK!" _a familiar voice shouted in the comm channel. Etel looked behind her and saw Tali, riding a tank chassis. On top of it, was what looked like a stripped down GARDIAN turret.

"Great work," Williams said with a slight grin. "Can you take down the other one?"

"_Sorry, it takes five minutes just to cool this thing off, not to mention building another charge" _Tali responded._ "Otherwise, we'll cause our own tank to melt."_

"We can take one Armature. Garrus, target it with Mako. Everyone else, open fire!" Etel ordered. A hail of gunfire, alongside several rockets and the Mako's main gun tore into the Armature. Its shield flashed for few seconds before they fell. Rockets impacted against it, staggering it. It tried to stand up again, but the firepower directed at it in a second volley soon caused it to fall down and deactivate.

"Good work everyone," Etel said as the two squads of geth infantry fell back, staying within the buildings to try and avoid being spotted or picked off by Garrus and Jenkins. "Sergeants, report. Casualties?"

"We are light on casualties," Hawk reported. "But that's only for this fight. We were already undermanned."

"Half of my men are down, but we are holding," Manson was next.

"I got six men still standing, we won't be able to last long," al-Fulani said, sounding tired.

"Um, Sergeant Lysanor is down. He's still breathing, but badly wounded," someone else said.

"Who are you?" Etel asked, turning to the woman who had spoken.

"Corporal Sil, mi'lady. I've taken command of the unit for now," the female PDF soldier answered.

"What's your status, Corporal?"

"Both of the squad's fire teams are up, mi'lady, but one's understrength."

_At this rate, we'll run out of bodies before the enemy does_,Etel thought grimly. "How's Bloodhound?" she asked as she turned to where the tank had retreated to after its main gun had jammed.

"_Working,"_ the tank's commander answered, _"but that hit we took tore the autoloader six ways from New Jerusalem. We're down to manual loading."_

Etel winced. Not having an autoloader to transfer freshly made rounds to the magazine was annoying enough, but having to manually load it was even worse because of the drop in rate of fire, plus either a technician needed to focus on that instead of other technical tasks or the gunner had to load it as well as aiming the gun. "Understood. Omni-gel not enough?"

"_Let me take a look,"_ Tali cut in, _"I might be able to do something."_

"_Uh, thanks?"_

"Do what you can," Etel answered as she turned to the sergeants and the poor corporal stuck in the job as well as the _Normandy_ ground team hanging around. "Alright, let's get our wounded and dead out of the way before the next wave gets here! Hawk, Manson, see what you can do about getting the trench line repaired. Williams, Jenkins, I want you two to help them. See if you can't set up a few murder holes for the geth to deal with."

"Got it," Williams said, gesturing for Jenkins to follow as the two followed the sergeants in and they relayed the orders.

Etel continued, turning towards the turians and Wrex. "Nihlus, if you can help with getting that machine gun back online. Garrus, check the Mako and make sure it's magazine is full."

She turned to the other two squad leaders. "Sil, al-Fulani, get back to your squads and see what you can do about closing the front way into the machine gun nests. If you have to collapse a wall, do it. We need a smaller front so the geth can't apply their numbers."

The two saluted and left to organize their squads as Etel turned to the lone individual left. "Wrex… do what you do best."

The krogan smirked slightly walked into the trench line and to the right machine gun nest. A few loud crashes later and the entrance was closed off with rubble far too large for humans to move was in the way, closing off the route into the nests. Etel just hoped the geth were not able to adjust their approach in time. Etel spent the time going through the defense line and making sure everything was ready when word came down that there was another wave incoming.

Tali managed to fix the problem with Bloodhound's autoloader, though they still had to manually transfer the newly manufactured reloads as that one had been completely destroyed. The trench line was fortified again and the holes plugged, but they were running out of rubble to reinforce it with. Jenkins had made a comment about a large scale war back on Earth, but Etel had ignored the remark as she was trying to figure out if there was something they could do to hold the access with their remaining forces.

"Is the Archimedes ready to fire?" Etel asked as she walked back towards it, still unable to find any options that appealed to her. "We have another wave coming in."

"It's ready," Tali answered as she checked her shotgun's heat sink. "Just tell us what you want us to hit."

"Prioritize vehicles and other large targets like those cannon husks," she said, "don't waste it on infantry."

Tali nodded as she checked her omni-tool as it received an update. "Picking up some fast movers in the distance. They might be going for a drop. We've been getting poked at while we've been moving. We show up, a drop ship deposits more geth. Normally we move on, but…"

Etel nodded slowly and activated her radio. "Williams, Nihlus, meet me at the Archimedes."

"Right behind you," a turian behind her said, causing Etel to jump briefly as she turned and saw Nihlus was there.

"_Coming. And did something happen?"_ Williams asked.

"Just lost track of where Nihlus was, Williams."

"_Roger that."_

The next wave began just like the previous ones had, geth infantry advanced through the buildings and stayed in cover as much as possible. Williams had drawn her sniper rifle and was taking shots at long range nearby while Nihlus was watching carefully, checking his omni-tool regularly as battle was joined.

"Shepard," Nihlus said as his eyes widened. "Dropships, incoming. Two of them coming right for us and the geth are pouring this way."

Etel turned towards him incredulously as she heard the whine of engines in the distance. "They're throwing it all here?"

"I think we have what they want," he said as he switched to his shotgun. "Wrex, get back here!"

"_Be there shortly!"_ his comm cut off with a loud thud indicating the krogan had head-butted something.

The dropships quickly hovered overhead, and as their cargo bays opened Etel saw the Collectors within leaping out, using their wings to slow themselves down. Garrus swore loudly as he grabbed his assault rifle and Williams had dropped her sniper rifle in favor of her shotgun as everyone near the Archimedes scattered.

Etel grabbed a pair of Collectors with biotics, pulling them down with as much force as she could and slammed them into the ground hard enough that their legs broke and their biotic barriers flared. Diving to the side and finding herself next to the tank with Tali, two Collectors larger than the usual ones landed in front of them, and the two childhood friends blasted them with their shotguns before they were hit.

As the two staggered from the close hit, Etel threw herself at the one on the right and stabbed it with an omni-blade as the other one's gun suddenly started venting heat before Tali rushed it and smashed it in the eyes with the back of her shotgun before pointing it towards it and taking another shot, followed by an omni-blade strike to the neck.

"Nice takedown!" Etel complimented as she grappled with her opponent and flung it over her, using her biotics to lighten it enough to lift before she slammed it to the ground and used her omni-blade to blind its left eyes. As the Collector howled in pain she brought her shotgun back up and shot it in the head, leaving a spray of pellets where it had been before turning to smash a husk's head as the creatures leapt down and made landings that normal humans could not do.

"I had a good teacher!" Tali answered as she punched a quarian husk in the face, breaking the faceplate to reveal the face had been almost completely covered in wires. "What is-"

Etel turned quickly as she realized what was about to happen. "Tali get-"

It was too late, an electric burst generated around the quarian husk and it threw its arms wide with a loud groan, the electric burst overloading Tali's shields and knocking her on her back, shotgun clattering away on the ground and then stepped on by a Collector that Williams had just staggered with a shotgun blast.

Etel rushed forward and lifted the quarian husk with her biotics, tossing it into a nearby wall with enough force to shatter bones as another pair of husks leapt at her and tried to tackle her when a large mass suddenly charged into both of them and knocked them away.

"This is where krogan excel!" the scarred battlemaster shouted with a wide grin as he grabbed the Collector that Williams had killed as it collapsed. Using the arm to get a grip, he turned and threw it into another Collector that was advancing on a pair of technicians separated from the Archimedes prototype. Knocked to the ground, the Collector quickly found itself shot in the head by the technicians before the two bolted behind the wall they had been pinned up against.

"They're going for the prototype!" Williams shouted as a husk leapt onto her and tried to tackle her. The two struggled before she managed to break its grip, hold it by the neck, slam it into a crack in the pavement, and crush the head with her boot before another husk leapt at her from behind, knocking her onto her back before Wrex blew the husk away with his shotgun.

Etel turned and saw that two geth engineers had dropped in with the Collectors and were trying to attach something to it as the dropship remained overhead. Etel ran towards them before creating a biotic field around herself and launching herself towards the geth, tackling one as she reached it and knocking it into the GARDIAN turret. Something began beeping incessantly at her as the other geth drew a sidearm and drained her kinetic barrier before she could turn around. Two shots went into her shoulder, but using her other hand she threw the geth away with a biotic throw.

"Damn it!" Tali cursed as she climbed up on it amidst the melee. "Now it's all ruined!"

"But it's still ours," Etel retorted as she grabbed a medi-gel canister and applied it to her wounds and passed Tali her shotgun. "Come on, we've got a battle to win!"

The drop in by the Collectors completely messed with their ability to hold the line. The two machine gun nests on the ground had to be abandoned as the geth pushed forward and they had fallen back to the second trench line. The husks and Collectors were driven out from the back and the dropships moved clear as an anti-aircraft vehicle had moved into position on the highway to take them down. The PDF soldiers in the trench and took full advantage of the killzone that the center of the trench made as well.

"We're going to have to fall back soon," Williams said as she and Etel found themselves next to each other. "We can't hold much longer!" She rose and fired, Jenkins opposite of her.

"I know," Etel answered as she pulled a geth trooper into the middle of the trench with biotics and Jenkins shot it. The fact that they were still holding was a testament to the discipline in these squads; Etel was sure some soldiers would have fled already. _And they'd be the smart ones,_ she realized as she understood how untenable their position was becoming.

"Cover me a moment!" She activated her helmet radio and dialed it for the strategic command frequency. "Duchess, this is Sir Shepard; we're losing men and the geth put a lot of force into this wave; we'll need to fall back soon. We'll buy as much time as we can before we do, though!"

"_Understood,"_ al-Jilani answered. _"Hold as long as you can, we need to reposition our other forces and do this right or the geth will run rampant into the highway."_

An explosion from a geth grenade caused Williams to land on the side of her face in the trench's mud as Etel shielded her eyes with her hand. "We'll hold as long as we can, Shepard out." She looked down at Williams as the Alliance soldier spat mud out bitterly. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine," she answered as she leaned out of cover from the trench line and sprayed a burst across it. "You have a plan on how we're going to fall back?"

Etel paused as she came back into cover while she weakened a Destroyer's shields. It tried to charge forward, allowing the Conqueror to blast it. "Well-"

Suddenly, a bright flash in the sky interrupted Etel's thoughts. She looked up, but the clouds were preventing her from seeing where the flash had come from. Soon, however, a burning wreckage of a geth ship rained to the far side of the colony. The comm burst into activity suddenly, almost deafening Etel more so than the explosions surrounding her.

"_I repeat, this is chapter master Gillian of the Order of Silken Blade, 6th chapter. Anyone alive down there?"_ a voice asked.

"_This is Duchess al-Jilani of New Syracusae, and words can't describe how happy we are to see you. Do you have space assets?_"

"_I have two chapter fleets with me, total of eighteen ships. We are currently engaged with the geth ships around the colony. Do you require support?"_

"_If you can spare a ship, that would be great. Transmitting coordinates."_

"_Coordinates received. Please stand by,"_ Gillian's voice disappeared for a moment, before returning. "Orion_ is moving into the atmosphere, they will take a support position and cover our drop ships. The geth ships are falling back, but we will pursue them to make sure they don't get a drop on us."_

"_Understood. It's good to have you here,"_ al-Jilani said before the comms exchange ended.

A small ship, which Etel recognized as an old _Nile-_classfrigate, dropped through the clouds and hovered over the city. A moment later and it opened fire with its smaller guns against the geth positions, though the fire support sent into their fight was towards the heavy geth reinforcements rushing to the trench line rather than the geth in it. A wave of dropships followed the aerial bombardment, landing around the battlefield.

One of the dropships landed near them behind the Mako, unloading four squads of Silken Blade members who quickly joined the beleaguered and few PDF soldiers. One of them looked around as she entered the trench line before noticing Etel. She approached her, taking cover alongside Etel as Williams leaned out to cover Jenkins sprinting across the gap to replace a soldier on their side who had been hit.

"Sword Maiden Miriam," the Silken Blade member said with an assault rifle in hand. "You're in charge here?"

"Sir Etel of House Shepard, Knights Hospitaller. Do you have knowledge of the Systems Alliance vessel _Normandy?"_ Etel asked, before taking a shot at a recon drone that tried to flank them from above.

"They are currently held at customs station _Medina_, but have not been boarded. They're waiting for our message," Miriam answered, somewhat distracted. Etel could not fault her, considering the battle that was being fought. Miriam gestured her squad to spread out amongst the trench line and they filled in the vacant positions or relieved soldiers who were fighting through injuries to stay active.

"Understood," Etel nodded.

"How many Hospitallers we can expect here?" Miriam asked. Etel shook her head.

"None besides me, as far as I know. I came here to run an errand, didn't expect to run into a full-scale invasion."

"It happens," Miriam said, before chuckling. Etel chuckled at the joke too, making the Alliance marines look at her strangely. "It's an Order joke. Not enough time to explain it."

"Ashley!" Miriam shouted.

"Yeah?" Williams responded, apparently from reflex, having not moved her eyes from the enemy.

"Not you, ours!" Miriam responded without even turning to look at the Alliance marine. "Take Margaret and Amna to the left side, then do what you do best!"

"Yes ma'am!" a sword sister answered, gesturing for the two to follow her and leaving. Miriam seemed to finally realize that there were Alliance marines in the group as she looked at Williams.

"What's the deal with the Alliance?" she asked, gesturing at Williams and Jenkins as they rose from cover and began to lay down suppressing fire with the others.

"Long story, suffice it to say they're with us," Etel answered, throwing a warp field at one of the geth troopers that had risen to try and take one of them out. "There are also two turians and a krogan on our side."

"Huh, you move in colorful company," Miriam said with a smirk, before ducking her head as a rocket landed near them, showering them with debris.

"Well, I'm colorful person!" Etel shouted over the noise. "We can discuss the situation with my companions later though!"

"Agreed. All Sisters, wait for the trio to start the mayhem, then we retake the trench and drive them back!" Miriam ordered over the comms before lowering her voice to explain. "Those three have an unhealthy fascination with explosives, so once those synthetics start exploding..."

"... we push them back." Etel said with a nod before she rose and fired across the trench as Williams and Jenkins ducked back down to vent heat from their rifles.

A few seconds later, a series of large explosions rippled in the trench line the geth had taken. Etel felt the blast wave hit her and she dug her feet into the ground to remain upright. The Silken Blade knights charged forward. Etel gestured for the PDF soldiers under her command to follow them or to cover the charge, as was case with the embedded defenses.

The geth seemed disoriented from the sudden explosions, with several of the bigger units having been destroyed. Etel noticed that more they managed to destroy in quick succession, more unresponsive the synthetics became, with an exception of the two Armatures that had moved up to try and force the push.

In the end, though, the Armatures were not enough. With the combined fire power from the _Orion_, the Mako and Conqueror tanks' guns, and the new reinforcements, the geth attack was soon broken and the machines fell back.

It was a strange sight, Etel decided, seeing synthetics flee. Yet like when they had retreated from the city center, they did not retreat in a disorganized mass, and instead they set up rear guard actions. While not nearly as well coordinated as the ones from before, allowing Garrus and the other marksmen to pick off geth who had moved beyond range of assault rifles, it was still enough to discourage the Silken Blade squads from pushing too aggressively. Instead, they focused on clearing the nearby buildings and making sure the wounded were tended to.

As the dust settled and the geth had fallen back from the area entirely, Etel walked over to Miriam who stood in front of the trench line coordinating the sweeps of the nearby buildings. The rain was also slowly ceasing as the clouds moved on in the wind.

"Okay, what in the God's name were those three packing?" Etel asked as their Conqueror hovered over the trench line to get in front of it.

"I always felt better not asking. I have tried to keep them in check, but like I said: They have an unhealthy fascination with explosives," she responded, looking over the trio who were busy disarming a mine that the geth had left behind. "I can't prove it, but I bet they have some illegal stuff. Normal munitions issued to them don't cause explosions of that size."

"Well, they are your knights. I can't tell you how to deal with them. Do you know what's the situation in orbit?"

"_Invincible_ was lost when her reactor was hit. _Drachma _and _Retribution_ are dead for all intents and purposes. Though _Drachmas' _crew managed to evacuate before the systems failed," Miriam listed, raising a finger with each name. "_Phoenix, Ursa _and _Little Princess_ are badly damaged. All in all, 3 ships out of commission, with two crews lost and three ships needing repairs. In exchange of three destroyed geth ships, with one escaping."

"The geth are stronger than we expected," Etel said as she sighed, looking towards a dead Silken Blade member who was being carried behind the trench line by two of her sisters in arms. "We might need to try to have the Emperor extend his hand at the Migrant Fleet again, they ought to have some knowledge of the geth."

"True," Miriam agreed. "However, how reliable is that data?" she looked up at the sky, where the _Orion_ was floating as the rain ceased entirely and the sun began to shine. "Then again, our ships were not the latest models. Most of our ships were either _Nile_ or _Canaan _class frigates."

"Problems with having to fund our ships ourselves," Etel agreed. She looked over the battlefield, happy to see that the geth were in full rout, or whatever synthetics did when they began to lose. New Syracusae was in Imperial hands again and the siege was over. "I trust you can take it from here?"

"Yes," Miriam said with a nod. "You can go and rest. You and every one of the PDF soldiers here. You look like you have been through Hell itself."

"You have no idea..." Etel said, shaking her head as she started walking towards the trench line and could make out Tali working on the Archimedes up the street. She smiled as she realized that the two would have a lot of catching up to do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_And we near the end of this story arc. This arc has been quite action heavy and we hope now that it is over, we can focus more on character development. Action will still be there, this _is_ a Mass Effect fanfiction after all, but not in the scale like this. _

_Now… Tali. Why change her history so much? This actually came up early on in writing this as all of us (Teen Spirit, Mandemon, and myself) wanted to keep the original _Normandy _team on the ship. However, when discussing the Empire's need for ship capabilities we realized that their 'soup, soap, salvation' would work perfectly; the Empire could get some of the best starship engineers in the galaxy to help develop their fleet, and quarians could live on planets and not hand to mouth in space. Obviously not all quarians would take up the offer, but we liked it because it helped set the Empire's identity as more than just 'generic human religious faction'._

_Then the idea of having Tali's parents moving to the Empire at some point to try and give her a better life, and this story's version of Tali sprang from there. From there we realized that having Tali as an Imperial character would make a rather glaring plot hole in her needing to go to Fist since she could just go to the human embassy. So, we had Fist instead intercept the data and modified the Citadel arc appropriately, and had Tali recruited more like she was in Mass Effect 2. Overall, Tali will be much like her original self, but she has a different background this time. Our goal is to keep her core character intact, but there will be some changes as per her different upbringing._

_Finally, we would like to thank Darth Cruel and swemanD47 for their reviews._

_The codex entries for this chapter are primarily world building; an overview of the group that jumped in to help the colony (similar to the one given for the Hospitallers back in Chapter 2), and a major conflict in the Empire's history. We felt that some world building was needed given the heavy combat that the last two chapters had._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Chivalric Orders - Orders Overview (Subsection, Silken Blade)**

The Order of the Silken Blade is perhaps one of the more historically significant groups in the Star Empire, at least as far as secular history goes. They were founded during the Star Empire's brutal civil war, the War of Succession, by Saint Ilham and fully recognized after the war ended.

Significant for being an all-female Order, they accept no male candidates. Originally the Empire's military was not willing to accept women in into its ranks, and thus the Silken Blade was seen as a compromise. However, in more recent times this is primarily a tradition in remembrance of the past. Grandmaster Jasmine Naji leads the order currently, and they are primarily engaged in protecting colonies, particularly given the recent geth and Collector threat to human colonies.

**Codex: War of Succession**

The War of Succession was a major planetary conflict fought from 2153 to 2162 Galactic Standard (1653 to 1662 CE) on Nod, and was one of the few before the Star Empire evolved into its interplanetary state. A full scale civil war, the conflict was fought between the loyalists who followed the _de facto_ Emperor Hassan the II, and rebels who joined Crown Prince Henry whom _de jure_ would have had the throne if not for the events preceding the war. The issue: right to succession for the throne, and whether the prior law took precedence over the decree of an Emperor.

The conflict took root when Crown Prince Henry was discredited by his father for his romantic relationship with an asari who was part of the Citadel liaison team to the Empire. To ensure that the Empire's rulership remained clear of alien hands, Henry was stripped of his position as the heir to the throne and his younger twin brother, Hassan the II, became the ruler. When their father died, Henry argued that he was the next Emperor in spite of his father's decree, as Imperial law stated that the eldest son would inherit the throne. Hassan disagreed, saying that as God's representative within mankind, as well as the head of state, the Emperor's word was superior. The situation escalated as the Noble Houses pledged their support for either claimant, splitting the Empire into two polarized factions. The war followed as Hassan the II sought to prevent the Empire from fracturing.

The conflict was long and difficult, taking approximately a decade to resolve and saw significant destruction across Nod and a casualty count of almost twenty-five million. The Citadel Council remained neutral through the conflict, citing the matter as an internal affair. The war ended with the loyalists winning, and afterwards Hassan codified his father's ruling into law, meaning that by Imperial law any member of the Imperial House who chose to marry a non-human did so forfeiting their right to the throne. The war also saw a major shift in Imperial culture, due to what many Imperials consider the more significant result of the war.

The war is better known for the appearance of Saint Ilham, a woman who created a volunteer military unit which was nicknamed the 'Silken Blade'. This unit was comprised entirely of women, primarily drawn from the widows and orphaned daughters from the war, and quickly managed to become an effective fighting force, leading the loyalist side to the victory in several critical battles. In recognition for their efforts, they became an officially recognized Chivalric Order. Ilham chose to retire rather than continue leading them, but was poisoned later by her opponents. Before her death, she had one final conversation with the Emperor, but to this day the content of this conversation is unknown.

What is known is that a short time later, Emperor Hassan the II instituted reforms that saw women as full equals to men in both law and action under the Empire, meaning they could become the leaders of noble houses or even sit on the throne by their own merit. Legal reforms were quickly implemented and enforced, while the cultural changes such as women being permitted to serve in the military took longer to take hold in the Empire.


	10. New Syracusae - Aftermath

"I'm surprised they let you come with us, Tali," Etel said as they were all sitting in the Mako, helmets lying around the IFV that had been completely tracked with mud after they boarded it. Williams was driving, while the rest (save for Alenko, who had stayed to help with the wounded) were sitting inside. Sergeant Hawk and the other PDF soldiers had been relieved and Etel let them go do as they saw fit after the battle.

"The prototype was wrecked in the fight," Tali responded with a shrug. "I'm good, but there's not much that I could do and we need to wheel it back to the lab anyways. Besides, I think they figured out that you're here for me."

"Yes, about that…" Nihlus cut in. "You said you had data for us?"

"Oh, that," Tali nodded slowly as she turned to the turian and put her hand on her shoulder where the suit had been punctured during the fight. She had already sealed it, but Etel could tell that it hurt. "It's too sensitive to keep on an omni-tool and as I said I sent it to the Council already. Didn't you hear it?"

"It was corrupted, or jammed," Garrus said as he shook his head. "We only got a part of it."

"Not that it matters, we have evidence that makes it obsolete," the turian Spectre refused to talk about what he had seen, only that they needed to contact the Council.

"Speaking of Saren," Williams cut in, "you need to contact the Council, right? Tali, you know where the nearest comm station is?"

"City Hall, but that got busted in the attack and our comm buoy was taken out as well. Long range comms will be limited until that's back, and they might not be secure," the quarian machinist answered as she shook her head. "The data is back at the command center, though."

"Take us over," Nihlus said, "we need it."

Etel paused as she glanced out the front viewport. "Actually… Williams, stop by the city center. We need to finish something. Garrus, can you take Nihlus over to the command center? We'll be there shortly."

Nihlus turned to her quizzically. "Is there something there you need to do?"

"There is, unless it got taken care of already."

The turian paused before shrugging. "Very well. Williams, stick with Shepard."

"I will," the Alliance marine answered as she turned the Mako and parked it near the city center. It was quite different now that it was no longer a war zone. The Silken Blade had taken up most of the defense and allowed the PDF soldiers to focus on patching themselves up or recovering their fallen. The center of the city had been cleaned of Imperial casualties earlier, but wrecked geth units still littered the area as did the numerous destroyed vehicles that lined the streets.

As Etel, Williams, Jenkins, and Tali disembarked from the Mako they looked at the site that Jenkins had called out when they were fighting there and she lead them to the center of the park. The three humans had their helmets in their hands but none of them wanted to put them back on.

"So what happened here?" Jenkins asked as he nodded towards the man that had been hanged in the center of the park on now damaged scaffold. "That… doesn't look like it was recent now that we got a chance to really look at it."

Etel's suspicions were confirmed, but Tali answered before she could say something. "Oh, that _bosh'tet_? He murdered the Millers when they charged him for repairs to the local mill after he drove a car through it. The attack happened before they could cut him down."

"That's… well," Jenkins looked uneasy while Williams was still looking around, as if checking for more enemies.

"It's why I didn't say anything about your comment on Eden Prime about non-slavers using hangings as well to enforce order," Etel explained as she walked towards the scaffold, the others following behind her. "But now that the attack is over, we should cut him down. He paid the price, the execution is over."

She stepped up and put her helmet on the ground as she looked at the site before her. Activating her omni-blade, she moved closer to get a grip around the man's waist, and cut the noose. He slumped down and she caught him, laying him down on the ground gently. The others had walked up and were watching, Williams folding her arm as she did so.

"Tali, where's the coffin?" Etel asked as she looked around. "Should be one out here if it wasn't blasted..." she trailed off.

"Should be under the scaffold," Tali supplied. "Jenkins, you want to help me?"

"Uh, sure," the Alliance marine shrugged uncertainly as he followed the quarian down.

Etel knelt next to the corpse, taking a moment to look at the dead man before quietly reciting a prayer. She never personally had been involved in any executions even back home, but she knew the rites. She was of the nobility; it was her responsibility to understand what was due to be administered. Williams was standing behind her as she finished, having taken her helmet off.

"I've heard that before," the Alliance soldier said as Tali and Jenkins were dragging the coffin up. "It's based on the _kaddish_, isn't it?" Etel raised an eyebrow in surprise before Williams added, "I had these two brothers in one of my first commands - one of them got killed and I heard it after from the survivor. He elaborated on it when the rest of the squad asked about it."

She nodded, impressed at the recognition of the Judaic tradition as Jenkins lowered the coffin next to them. "Yeah, that was where the rite started. With most people it would be done later, but when you string someone up, it's usually done quickly after the execution. You know, not being crueler than you have to about justice," she glanced at the coffin. "Could you help me with him?"

Williams nodded as she put her helmet down, grabbing the dead criminal's legs while Etel grabbed under the arms and laid him in the coffin. Jenkins slid the top onto it after. "So uh, you guys don't just bury straight out, do you?" Jenkins asked as he glanced between their muddied armor and the closed wooden coffin.

Etel frowned, confused before she realized what he meant. "Oh, of course not, but it's easier to transport like this. The morgue workers handle the rest."

"Right," Jenkins shrugged. "Well, we need to talk to anyone? Lieutenant Alenko's helping the local medics, but what about us? We going to go meet with Nihlus?"

Etel was about to answer when her omni-tool chirped. "Shepard here," she answered.

"_Sir Shepard, bring yourself and Williams to the command center,"_ al-Jilani's voice echoed. _"And have Miss Zorah report back to her duty station."_

"Understood."

"_Also,"_ al-Jilani added before they could act, _"I talked with Gillian and she's bringing in a new comm buoy. The Alliance ship that you came in - _Normandy_, correct?"_

"Correct," Etel answered.

"_They'll be coming with it. I have given them clearance to land in our spaceport, or what's left of it, but I want Williams here until her superiors arrive. Understood?"_

"Clearly, Duchess. We'll be there as soon as we can. Nihlus took the Mako and should be arriving shortly."

"_What happened?"_

Etel paused as she glanced down. "I took down the man that was executed in the city center, no point leaving him there."

"_I see,"_ al-Jilani said slowly, pausing before she continued. _"Thank you for dealing with that, and when you finish report as soon as you can. al-Jilani out."_

"What was that about?" Jenkins asked with a frown as the omni-tool's holographic display faded.

"Probably forgot about this, given all that happened," Etel shrugged as she leaned down to pick up her helmet. "You heard what Sergeant Hawk said, she was under a lot of pressure from all this. Anyways, we better get moving. Maybe we can hitch a ride from the PDF."

"Hopefully," Tali said as they started walking. Williams glanced at Jenkins and checked her omni-tool, pulling up the map that Hawk had given them earlier.

"Jenkins," Williams cut in, "head to the starport and be there when the _Normandy_ lands - tell them everything that happened. And call Kaidan, ask him to head over too once he's done."

"Yes ma'am," Jenkins answered with a salute and headed off, checking his own omni-tool.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Etel asked once Jenkins had left earshot. "I've… picked up that he has a low opinion of the Empire."

"I think he saw some things today," Williams answered with a slight smile as she tried to wipe some mud that had stuck to her face. "And damn, we're going to need showers once we're back on the _Normandy_."

"Definitely," Etel answered as she shook her head. "Now if only they could invent mud-proof armor."

"At least you can take your armor off," Tali commented slyly. Williams paused, face twitching as she realized the insensitive comment. "Relax, I'm just teasing."

"Right," Williams said slowly as an APC came to a halt near them and the rear hatch opened.

"Hey Tali," one of the soldiers said with a smirk, "need a lift?"

"Actually, yes," Tali answered. "Thanks, Faris."

The three boarded the APC and took their seats. "So, Faris, how'd you do?" Tali asked one of the soldiers.

"Eh, made it through alive," the soldier answered as he hit the bulkhead to tell the driver to move. "Got lucky, though. I was stationed near the base shepherding civilians through to the bunkers. I didn't see much action, though I probably have your friends to thank for that," he looked to Etel and lowered his head respectfully. "Sir Knight."

"At ease," Etel said with a smile. "And Tali, hopefully we'll get a chance to catch up later. I need to talk to your commander about something…"

"Let's hope he agrees, it'd be nice to work with you again," Tali said happily.

"I just hope the colony gets some reinforcements," Faris cut in. "Just listening to the comms told me how bad we were doing. And where the hell was the fleet?"

"Admiral Attia's going to have a burr in his pants over this, that's for sure," Etel commented as she considered how the Admiral and his dim view on the Alliance. Or how he would be able to handle the fact that the Alliance was on top of this and not his own fleet.

"Yeah, I guess he would," Faris answered with a shrug as the APC got off the highway and drove into the main base.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Command Center**

Leaving their helmets on a rack nearby, Etel and Williams walked back into the command center. Nihlus was nowhere in sight and Tali had already gone off to rejoin her fellow engineers. Waiting for them was al-Jilani who was folding her arms. There was also an Imperial general that Etel did not recognize and a few other nobles who seemed to be al-Jilani's vassals. Technicians were manning other consoles and chattering between themselves about various stages of cleanup and occasional mentions of a geth straggler being taken out.

"Sir Shepard. How good for you to finally join us," al-Jilani said as the two entered the command suite itself. "Now that the geth interference is gone, we are using Chapter Master Gillian's ship to reestablish long range communications until the Comm Buoy arrives."

"I thought we were waiting for it to ensure a secure channel," Williams said with a frown. The two had washed their faces after stopping to use the bathroom when they arrived, but their armor was still stained. Thankfully they no longer tracked mud and bits of geth conductive fluid everywhere they walked.

"Chapter Master Gillian's technicians were able to use one of their support ships to act as one temporarily instead and the connection passed all tests. We'll make use of it given the situation calls for speed. Jacob, patch us through."

"Yes, mi'lady," a technician answered.

The holograms flickered to life, total of three of them. First one to stabilize was a general Etel could not name. The second image to appear was that of Admiral Attia of Imperial Navy. The third image flickered little bit longer before stabilizing. Immediately upon recognizing the third face, Etel dropped to one knee and bowed her head. Other people in the room were either faster than she was or followed her suit as the image they were seeing registered.

"What is this? Who dares not to pay their respects!?" the general snarled. Etel dared to raise her gaze for a moment, only to see Williams standing up, looking confused and sticking out like a snowman in the desert.

"I am not Imperial, so why would I bend my knee?" Williams asked, staring the general down.

"Williams, check the man in the middle," Etel whispered quickly. Williams took a look at the man in the middle, before snapping into a salute.

"_Arise, my friends,"_ the Emperor said warmly and the people slowly stood up, returning to their tasks. He looked at Williams, who had dropped the salute, and put a hand on his chin briefly. "_Hmmm; it is rare that we see Alliance soldiers within the Empire's boundaries. May I ask your name?"_

"Umm... Yes. Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams. I hope I have not insulted you... your highness?" she said, glancing at Etel who nodded at the use of right term.

"_You have not, Commander,"_ the Emperor said, waving his hand as if nothing had happened. _"Sir Lionheart's eagerness to maintain a proper protocol is admirable, but misplaced in this case."_

"_What is an Alliance marine doing in our research facility?" _the general raised his voice again. _"This facility is off-limits to those not involved in the project!"_

"An old friend of mine requested my aid to find his daughter," Etel explained quickly, stepping forward and hoping to defuse the escalating situation. She could hear the ambassadors' shared complaint about the words _political shitstorm_ in her mind. "Since I was serving on board an Alliance ship, as per my Spectre evaluation, I requested the captain to take us here, unaware of this facility. When we arrived, we found the colony under attack. The captain dropped us in to assist the colony, before heading out to contact Imperial forces. She came with me. Williams is my counterpart candidate."

"_Then she must be detained and interrogated on how much she saw. This research facility is a military secret,"_ Admiral Attia snapped immediately. _"As such, I want the ship grounded until we are sure that our security has not been breached in any way. Once we are certain that our security is good, they can leave. If not..."_

"_Admiral, hold a moment,"_ Emperor Baldwin ordered immediately. _"Lady al-Jilani, has Commander Williams attempted to gain access to classified data?_" the Emperor asked as he continued to stare at Attia and the general.

"No, Your Highness," al-Jilani explained, bowing her head. "She did see the Archimedes prototype fire and fought alongside it, but she has not attempted to access or even asked about the details of the weapon."

"In fairness," Williams cut in, "I did ask about firing it again after it took out a geth walker, but that's it," Etel wanted to smack her hand on her forehead. _Not helping…_ she thought in annoyance.

"_Even then, I see no need to detain her and cause a political incident," _the Emperor said with a firm nod. _"There is enough tension between our people as it is. As such, Sir Lionheart, Sir Attia, I ask you to drop this matter."_

"_...As you wish, Your Highness," _Lionheart conceded. Attia nodded also.

"_Very well, Your Highness."_

"_Now, I understand this might not be related to current incident, but did you find the person you were looking for?"_ the Emperor asked as he turned his away from the two officers who were now avoiding the Emperor's gaze.

"Yes, Your Highness, we did. A quarian named Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," Etel explained, bowing her head as she spoke. "She was found safe and helped us in the defense of the colony. We also found that she was the one who provided the needed evidence to cause the Council to give us our current mission."

"Actually..." Williams began uncertainly as she looked between them. "Could we recruit her for our team? I mean, we can expect to go against the geth regularly and she was able to hack data from one, not to mention those mean skills with a shotgun. Could be really useful."

"_NO_!" Sir Lionheart snarled loudly, his rank insignia and medals bouncing on his uniform as he thrust his hand in front of him decisively. _"She is involved in a highly classified project and thus, should not be allowed onboard an Alliance vessel where she could be captured and interrogated! I would only release her to your service is_ the Emperor himself _gave permission!"_

"_Funny that you should mention that..."_ the Emperor said with a smirk on his face, causing the Noble to stare blankly in horror as he realized what he had just said. _"Looking over the details, the _SSV Normandy_ is also a highly advanced Alliance warship, is this correct?"_

"Yes, your highness," Williams confirmed uneasily.

"_Sir Shepard, what do you think?"_ the Emperor asked, turning his gaze towards her.

"Well, she would certainly be very useful to us," Etel explained before pausing to swallow as the fact the _Emperor_ was asking for her opinion hit her. "Perhaps she could help us access geth data when needed. Since, as Commander Williams said, we are expected to face the geth, her technological skills could offer significant assistance."

"_I see... well, that would merely put_ two _of our people onboard a classified Alliance vessel, one source of classified information for another. A fair trade, would you not say so, Sir Lionheart?"_

"I... Yes, Your Highness," Lionheart seemed to deflate at the news.

"I would assume Sir Shepard would look over miss 'Zorah during their stay on _Normandy_?" al-Jilani asked. "I'm not keen on having one of my charges put into unnecessary danger."

"Yes, Duchess, I will," Etel answered. "Of course, if she wishes to stay here she does not need to come, but she already expressed interest."

"_Then you do not need to fear,"_ The Emperor continued with a smile. _"If anything, this is exactly what mankind needs, to work together rather than to stay separate."_

"_Emperor,"_ Admiral Attia cut in, _"Forgive the impertinence, but I believe we have another pressing concern with these two geth attacks, both of which bypassed our defenses."_

Baldwin nodded grimly. _"Indeed. Commander Williams… granddaughter of General Williams who was responsible for Shanxi's defense, correct?"_

"Yes, my grandfather," Williams answered uncertainly. The Emperor nodded at the confirmation.

"_The Alliance is fortunate to have such loyal patriots defending its borders. And today, it is the Empire's turn to be grateful."_

"I uh…" Williams coughed into her hand as she was caught off guard. "Thank you, but I wasn't the only Alliance soldier here, there were two others who fought just as hard. Your highness," she added quickly.

Baldwin smiled warmly. _"Then tell your fellows that the Emperor, if no one else, appreciated their efforts here today."_

Ashley lowered her head briefly, glancing at Etel who nodded as she picked up the appropriate response. "I will."

"_You could learn a thing or two, Admiral,"_ Baldwin commented as he looked towards the Attia, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

The door to the command center opened and Nihlus walked in. Upon seeing the hologram of Baldwin he lowered his head briefly but continued walking.

"Who is this?" Lionheart asked, visibly annoyed. "Wait… you're the Spectre, aren't you?"

"Correct," Nihlus answered. "Emperor Baldwin, I apologize for barging in like this but I need these two immediately," he looked toward the two Spectre candidates. "The comm buoy is being installed now and I need them present for a debriefing."

"_Go,"_ the emperor answered. _"And thank you for your help, Spectre."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**SSV **_**Normandy**_

**Docking Bay 15**

Nihlus, Ashley, and Shepard stepped through the airlock and onto the _Normandy_, where Joker was waiting for them.

"Captain's waiting in the briefing room," Joker explained. "The others are already there."

Heading through the CIC and into the briefing room, they walked in to find Kaidan, Jenkins, Garrus, and Wrex waiting for them and talking amongst themselves quietly as Anderson stood at the front. He nodded to them and gestured for them to take a seat as they came in.

"Alright, everyone is here," Anderson said and the small talk stopped. "So, what do we have?"

"I take this is some sort of debriefing?" Wrex rumbled. Anderson nodded, with the old battlemaster leaning back on his seat, trying to find a good position.

"This will be a regular event after missions," Nihlus explained. "After this, I will submit my report to the Council. I want it to be as comprehensive as possible, so we all need to be together to discuss what happened."

"Well, that makes you more organized than half the merc jobs I was on," Wrex said with a slight smile. "So, what'd you find in that geth forward base that got you so riled up?"

"We now have definite proof that Saren has gone rogue and has allied himself with the geth and Collectors. How or to what end, we have no idea," Nihlus continued, standing up and walking next to Anderson, who gave way for him. Nihlus tapped his omni-tool, replaying his conversation with Saren. Ashley had to fight some surprise that Saren still asked Nihlus to not get killed as it ended and Nihlus spoke again. "Although we will need to wait for official word from the Council, I am certain that our mission will change."

"How so?" Jenkins asked.

"So far we have been on a Locate-and-Detain mission. Soon, it will be Search-and-Destroy," Nihlus answered. Jenkins face went through several emotions, before he schooled it back to neutral expression.

"I also noticed something from the after action reports I managed to see in the PDF command post," Nihlus continued. "The moment the geth saw Archimedes, Collectors entered the fray and geth forces moved their focus towards it."

"They wanted the Archimedes," Ashley said confidently. "The armature that it didn't slag had a clear line of sight at it during the fight and did not take a shot. They were taking great pains to avoid damaging it and keeping everyone else pinned down, even with high losses."

"But why would the geth want it?" Shepard asked. "It's a prototype. Couldn't they just build their own design?"

"Good question. It's something we will need to look into," Nihlus nodded. "We can also confirm that Collectors and geth have formed an alliance. Once again, how and why, we do not know."

"They must have similar goals," Garrus suggested. "Why else would synthetics ally with organics? One organic like Saren is one thing, but a whole species?"

"I believe this will answer your question," Nihlus said and activated his omni-tool.

"_The attack on Eden Prime was successful,"_ Saren's voice came from the omni-tool. _"The information from the beacon is secure and we now have a lead on the Conduit."_

"_And are one step closer to the rebirth of the Reapers,"_ Benezia's voice answered.

"_Yes. With the aid of the Collectors, we can return order to the galaxy. The Reapers and their servants shall be the first to transcend. We shall be the first to achieve the perfe-"_ the file cut off.

"The rest of the file was deleted, but there were several plans included with the data, some of them still encrypted. Also, there was as a copy of the communication where Saren gave his Spectre codes to the geth, so they could bypass Eden Prime's sensor network as well as the one on New Syracusae. Whatever these... Reapers are, the Collectors, the geth, as well as Saren and Benezia, have thrown their lot with them."

"Reapers... Reapers reapers reapers..." Shepard muttered to herself. Suddenly, she dropped her head, gripping it with her hand.

Kaidan noticed that Shepard was holding her head. "Shepard? You're alright?"

"Yeah, just some headaches..." she said weakly.

"Maybe you overused your biotics again." Ashley suggested. "You should head to the medbay, Chakwas will give you some painkillers," Shepard nodded and walked out of the room. "So, does anyone have any idea what these 'Reapers' might be?"

"Only reaper I can think of off the top of my head is the Grim Reaper, but that's not what it'll be at all," Kaidan commented with a shrug.

"Perhaps it's some other group?" Ashley suggested, before realizing something. "Wait, can you play Benezia's line again?" Nihlus nodded and played the file. "Hmm... She says 'rebirth'. It sounds like these Reapers don't exist anymore."

"What, they are trying to bring back something?" Wrex said. "What would they be bringing back? A species, merc group, what? No group called the Reapers has ever been in control of anything but a small city block, at least until the cops bust them out."

"Not to mention, from the way they spoke of them these Reapers are supposed to bring 'order' to the galaxy," Nihlus agreed. "I would assume, based on the heavy handed tactics our opponents have used, this would not be a peaceful event. Anything that could challenge the galaxy would be recorded _somewhere_."

"Challenge the galaxy?" Garrus asked in surprise. "That'd be a tall order considering the Hierarchy alone, never mind the Empire, the Alliance, the Republics, the Union, or anyone else who's part of the Citadel."

"That would be a tall order," Wrex agreed with a firm nod. "Especially if you factor in the Terminus Systems or other independents."

"Don't forget," Anderson cut in, "the Council represents about half the galaxy… the _known_ galaxy. We've mapped only what, about a percent of the galaxy so far?" He turned to Nihlus, who nodded.

"Hmm... Maybe it's all smoke and mirrors?" Garrus suggested. "This data was taken from the geth, so maybe Saren and Benezia were keeping up a charade. Lying, acting as if this was furthering the goal of resurrecting these Reapers."

"That does sound more likely," Ashley nodded. "Create an elaborate lie, and stick to it, while directing the idiots under to do your bidding and having the enemy looking for something that doesn't exist."

"Hmph. Reminds me of that 'Cult of Divine Rebirth' scandal a few years ago," Wrex grumbled. Ashley and the other Alliance marines looked at him strangely, Anderson raising an eyebrow at Wrex quizzically. "Some minor sect of Imps or somesuch nonsense; turns out they were just a bunch of conmen."

"Don't remind me, it took six months just to clean up their remnants on the Citadel," Garrus shook his head. "Seriously, how badly can you scam people before they realize that 'eternal paradise' is not coming and all you're doing is getting slips of hardcopy?"

"Well we had a lot of guys thinking rapture was coming at the turn of the millennium," Kaidan commented with a smirk. "Boy were they disappointed."

"On topic," Nihlus cut in coldly as Anderson simply shrugged, "I doubt that these 'Reapers' exist, or if they do that they will live up to the expectations, but I'm troubled by this."

"Why?" Jenkins asked. "I mean, Saren's crazy, and apparently so is this Benezia. I could see crazy believing this kind of stuff."

Nihlus glared at the corporal before continuing coldly. "Because it's not like Saren to believe in ghost stories. Unless something happened to make him believe that such things exist, he is more likely to dismiss it as primitive superstition. Unless he set this up purely as a distraction, he seriously believes that these Reapers are something."

"Extranet search?" Anderson suggested. "Probably won't yield anything, but it might give us some leads."

"We can always try and access the Citadel Archives if this is real old, maybe there's something there," Garrus suggested. "There's a lot of information there that's not available on the extranet."

"Possibly, but we shouldn't devote too much time to this unless the Council tells us otherwise," Nihlus turned towards the communications suite at the front of the briefing room before turning back. "If the Reapers are something real, then we need to be alert for proof. But until we have more, this is just a footnote in our investigation, something to be alert for but not at the expense of the mission."

"There is another thing we should consider actually," Ashley said as Shepard returned. She turned to her counterpart candidate. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Still bit shaky, but I can handle it," Shepard responded. Ashley nodded and turned back to Nihlus.

"Back to what I was saying, what are we going to do with Tali?" Ashley asked. "I mean, we are going to go against the geth now, that's clear."

"And she managed to actually pull data out of one," Shepard agreed, nodding her head and sitting down. "She could be a valuable member of our team. If we can get her access to the geth databanks before they flash them, we could learn something more."

"Hmm..." Nihlus said, rubbing his mandibles before turning to Anderson. "Captain, would you mind another foreign national onboard your ship?" he asked Anderson. Anderson thought for a moment before answering.

"She will have to comply with our regulations and security protocol, but beyond that... the logic is sound. I will accept her onboard if she is willing to join us."

"Good," Nihlus nodded to the captain before turning his head. "Williams, Shepard, you go pick her up after this debriefing then."

"Understood," both answered.

"I am worried about these new type of husks you mentioned," Anderson said. "The old ones were bad enough. To hear that they are... evolving, is even more worrying."

"Not to mention it's clear now that this process is not limited just to humans," Garrus said.

"Never thought a quarian might be threatening in close combat," Wrex said with a wry smile.

"The Council will want to know about this development. The geth have clearly evolved far beyond our imagination," Nihlus said.

"Let's hope those autopsies of the husks on Eden Prime yield results soon," Jenkins said. "Though, I guess there'll be more samples to pick from now."

Shepard gave Jenkins a harsh glare before shaking her head. "They'll pay for what they've done."

"Do not let your emotions to cloud your judgment. I need clear headed people, not berserkers," Nihlus chided.

"I thought that was why I was brought aboard," Wrex said as he frowned deeply. Nihlus looked surprised, before noticing that Wrex was fighting down a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Garage 3**

**One and half hours later**

After the debriefing was over, Ashley and Shepard had taken few minutes of clean their armor and get a basic first aid check from Chakwas, who chided them about unnecessary risks before sending them off while Jenkins underwent a more in depth medical examination. Medically cleared, they set off to meet Tali as soon as Shepard had grabbed another tabard from her foot locker. Ashley drove the Mako to the base while Etel sat in the technician's seat. After asking around the main base, they located Tali in one of the garages, trying to repair the prototype. Only her legs were visible, as she was underneath the chassis on a roll cart.

"Tali, how are you?" Shepard asked when they approached.

"Huh, who?" Tali asked, before reaching for the edge of the laser system and pulling herself out from it. "Oh, hi Etel. I'm good, just trying to salvage what I can from this thing," the young quarian said.

"You're not trying to fix it?" Ashley asked.

"It's pointless. The lenses melted, then leaked onto the targeting computer which fried the core. Better just to take it apart and build a new one."

"I'll trust your expertise," Ashley said. She couldn't see her expression, but Tali straightened up little but from her words.

"So, Tali..." Shepard began. "Would you be interested in traveling with us?"

"With you? I would love to!" Tali exclaimed. "I always wanted to see the galaxy and being stuck here kinda hampers that goal. Not to mention, it would be great to spend time with you again. It's been too long since we had time."

"That is true," Shepard nodded.

"But... What about my job here?"

"It has been already been taken care of. If you want, you can join us."

"Lionheart gave a permission?"

"Well, he did need some persuasion at first..." Shepard said.

"The Emperor kinda told him to shut up and let you decide," Ashley added.

"You met the Emperor?" Tali asked, knocking her head against the chassis before managing to straight up entirely. "Wow, that's..." she trailed off, hand on her head.

"Well, we didn't plan for it," Shepard said with a faint smirk. "But yeah, we did talk to him briefly. He has given his blessing for you to join us."

"I... I uh... Sure!" Tali responded, enthusiastically as she let of her head. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as Council has been briefed. We could go pick your items and note your leave with your superiors."

"Sounds like a plan. I don't have much to take with me, so it shouldn't take long."

"Alright, we'll wait with the Mako," Ashley said as she gestured to the infantry fighting vehicle. The quarian nodded and hurried off as the two Spectre candidates waited, leaning on the Mako.

"So," Shepard asked, "how was it being with Imperial troops for a while?"

"Well I can't say I'd prefer them over Alliance troops, but I might be biased," Ashley smirked at the obvious joke. Shepard frowned briefly before smirking as well. Ashley paused, considering the last two missions. "So, you think Nihlus is just going to rotate who's in charge based on the territory we're in?"

"Probably just for when we have to drop in without time," she commented. "I mean, Eden Prime, here? We dropped in and didn't have time to have Nihlus establish this as a Spectre operation. If we have more time he'll probably take the lead."

Ashley nodded as she glanced around. "So, what'll happen to the colony?"

"Depends," Shepard answered as she rubbed her chin. "The Duchess is probably going to be burning through the house's treasury to get everything back to normal. The capital alone was wrecked; and we haven't seen how other cities were damaged."

"There won't be any help from above?"

"There will be, but given that this planet is the Duchess' responsibility she'll be pouring a lot of effort in," she paused. "Overall, I'm hopeful. If the Duchess manages to get this colony rebuilt quickly, I think people here will be back to normal soon," Shepard's face hardened. "Or as normal as you can get in war."

"Huh. Back on Earth, when we still had nobles, their only responsibility was to send soldiers to the monarch."

"HAH!" Shepard laughed. "You should see what running a planet costs a Duke on a weekly basis. I swear, over half of the income goes straight into just running the basic infrastructure. Then you need to pay an assortment of other stuff and consider possible investments for expanding the existing infrastructure. We might be Nobles, but that just means we get more responsibility," Shepard's face grew serious. "Indeed... If the Duchess can't rebuild fast enough to attract people capable of paying taxes, she might run out of money. Which means she can't uphold her responsibilities. Which means... she would lose her title."

"Wait, really?" Ashley asked, not believing what she heard. "Because her fief got devastated, she might lose it? Even if she was doing everything she could?"

"It's the law. Fail to uphold your duties, as determined by your status, and you lose your status. It is a harsh system, but necessary to keep Nobles straight. Too much power and too little responsibilities..." Shepard didn't need to finish the sentence.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Ashley said as soon as Shepard trailed off, finishing the point. Shepard raised an eyebrow at the comment. "It's a saying on Earth. It means that power without checks is liable to corrupt its wielder," Shepard nodded at her explanation. "So what happens if she loses the title?"

"Could any number of things," Shepard answered. "The only thing for certain would be that a new Duke would be appointed to oversee New Syracusae. As to the Duchess herself, the most likely result would be she would just be demoted to a Baron unless she did something horrible."

"Huh," Ashley was surprised how strict the system was. She had assumed that the nobles had a free reign over their subjects, or at least were more like governors than actually being wholly tied to the fate of their territories. _Maybe we need to tie our own politicians closer to the places they represent,_ she mused before dismissing the idea as impractical.

"So... Can I ask you about something?" Shepard asked. Ashley nodded in response, wondering what it might be. "I read some the scriptures from your Earth religions. Well, some of them, you guys have tons of them, even different versions of the same thing. What's the deal with the 'unclean' food thing?"

"The what?"

"You know, 'don't eat this, it's unclean'? It was called pork, I think. The other was this big animal, cows. What's the deal with not being allowed to eat them?"

"Uh... Well, to be honest... I don't know," Ashley rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, not expecting this question at all. "Apparently, some people think that some animals are unclean, not worthy for humans to eat. Eating them is a sin, or something like that."

"That's... weird. The only taboo we have is not to eat anything sentient," Shepard responded. "I mean, how can something be 'unclean'? There's food hygiene, I get it, but come on!" she said in an exasperated tone. "'Not worthy of human consumption'? God created everything, why would he create something that is 'unclean'!?" she threw her hands into the air. Ashley merely shrugged, though she did find Shepard's outburst amusing.

"Well, it's their loss. Pork tastes good when you grill it right"

Shepard paused, looking at her with a slight grin. "I have a feeling some faiths moved past it?"

Ashley shrugged again. "A lot of denominations moved past it. Probably because we actually learned how to cook stuff safely."

Shepard nodded. "That'd make sense, actually. The Council did help us with identifying what was safe to eat early on, along with medicine."

Ashley raised an eyebrow in surprise as there was a loud crash as an engineer dropped a crate of unspent ammo. The two turned but once they saw it was nothing Ashley turned back to her Imperial counterpart. "I thought the Council did a controlled uplift, not just handing over all the toys."

"Well they didn't give us nukes, for one," Shepard pointed out as she nodded towards the ammo that had been dropped. "But they did give us a lot of basic medicine and the like, mostly just so we weren't dying from disease and all. I think the salarians also taught anatomy once they had an idea of our biology."

Ashley nodded. "So, it was medieval warfare but without all the mud killing people?"

"Pretty much, at least at first. The Council was doing an uplift, they were just pacing us so we had time to adjust."

"Had to be weird."

"You have no idea..." Shepard said. "Let's just say that some of ancient scriptures are... creative. Not to mention for a long time people thought asari were either devils or angels depending how long you worked with them. Also, the succubus accusation was popular, especially as people's sons and daughters got to the age."

"I'll bet," she said.

"Also... I am not sure about this but..." Shepard started, before seemingly stopping to rethink her words.

"What is it?" Ashley prodded. Shepard waited for a moment before saying anything.

"It's about those visions..." she began before looking away. "Looks like Tali is done," Shepard said. Ashley followed her gaze and saw Tali coming back with a bag in hand "Let's talk more once we are alone," Shepard finished as she pushed herself off of the Mako.

XXXXXXXXX

**SSV **_**Normandy**_

"Welcome aboard," Anderson said as the three stepped out of the Mako after it was parked back into the _Normandy_'s engineering bay. "I take it this is miss 'Zorah?"

"You can just call me Tali," the quarian answered with a wave of her hand. "So, where am I going to be working?"

"Probably in the bay itself," Ashley said as Shepard turned towards her. "Also, the two doors on the far side of the bay, past the elevator?" She gestured for them and Tali nodded. "Off limits; that's the drive core."

The quarian turned at her, dead in her tracks as Shepard remained silent and just watched. "Wait, I thought the whole point of me being onboard was so you'd have another engineer."

"For cracking geth data, yes, but the drive core's a military secret," Ashley explained, finding herself again wishing she could see Tali's face. _Couldn't she just not polarize the faceplate?_ Ashley briefly wondered as the quarian folded her arms.

"It's a security precaution," Anderson explained. "This _is _a prototype. Don't worry, I don't want any details of the Archimedes and if any of the crew pester you for classified information on it tell them they can talk to me about it."

"Thank you, Captain," Tali said as she lowered her head respectfully. "You know, I've never served on a ship before. Maybe I'll get a chance to understand why so many quarians stay on the Flotilla instead of trying to find somewhere to settle."

"Maybe," Shepard said with a faint smile, "but at least your father will be happy to know you're safe. Speaking of that, we should call your parents."

"Damn, I completely forgot about that, I was supposed to call them a week ago! Is there a comm station I can use? Sorry to be abrupt, but…"

"It's okay," Anderson said with a smile on his face, "We'll have Joker patch you through as soon as we can get a clean signal. However, that may have to wait as… ah, Spectre Kryik."

"Captain," the turian Spectre said with a nod. "I understand that you may need to brief our new recruit with the ship regs, but I need her for debriefing the Council."

"Very well," Anderson said with a nod. "This way," he gestured to the elevator.

After a ride up and climbing the stairs, the group stood inside the communications room. Ashley, Tali and Shepard stood behind Nihlus as the holographic images of three Councilors appeared.

"_Spectre Kryik. We have received your reports and we must admit, this is a serious development,"_ Councilor Sparatus began. _"Saren Arterius has been stripped of his rank and his access codes have been revoked. Anyone trying to use them will be flagged."_

"_As such, since his guilt is no longer in doubt, your mission has changed,"_ Councilor Valern continued. _"You are no longer required to detain Saren. Your new mission is to find him and eliminate him."_

"I understand, Councilors. I believe I have some leads that I can investigate. With the knowledge of his goals, we can perhaps anticipate his next move."

"_I doubt that these... Reapers are anything more than a fabrication,"_ Sparatus said dismissively. _"A false trail laid by Saren to distract us."_

"_While certainly possible,"_ Valern noted, _"Saren may also have information that we don't in this matter."_

"_Councilor?"_ Tevos asked as she frowned at the salarian.

"_I'm merely stating that we should be prepared for the possibility that Saren would have more motive here and we should not dismiss this out of hand,"_ the salarian noted calmly as he folded his arms. _"I doubt this is anything more than a ghost story, but even fools can make the right guess."_

"If nothing else," Nihlus said, "learning more of Saren's motives may tell us why he turned on us."

"_Agreed,"_ Tevos said with a nod. _"However, I am greatly concerned by some of the preliminary analysis of the data you sent. It indicates that the geth are using previously unknown relay routes to bypass our defenses."_

Ashley immediately felt her gut tighten as she realized the implications, both Shepard and Tali's stances tensing and Nihlus stared blankly at the Council for a moment before he recovered. "Are you suggesting the geth are opening relays?" the turian Spectre asked. "But how is that getting them into position for these attacks? The sheer number of places those relays could go to..."

"_Agreed, it seems unlikely, but that is what the preliminary data indicates,"_ Sparatus elaborated. _"However, it is only an initial analysis. In the meantime, however, assume that nowhere is safe from geth attack and be prepared for anything. We are sending an alert to our home governments on this development, but we will not make public announcements until the information is verified."_

"Let's hope that's the end of the surprise attacks," Shepard muttered under her breath and Ashley nodded in agreement.

Ashley glanced at the Councilors who glanced between each other for a moment before Tevos spoke. _"We are still analyzing the data, but we cannot afford to be careless with the implications of this information. However, you are still to focus on Saren, but be aware that he may be using more than just Spectre codes to bypass defenses."_

"I understand, we will remain vigilant," Nihlus answered calmly.

"_You also said you had found some interesting technology?" _the salarian Councilor asked. Nihlus nodded and gestured Tali to take a step back. Tali obeyed and Nihlus pulled out a cylinder from his tool belt.

"Yes. I found this," Nihlus said. Ashley guessed the Councilors were seeing a holographic copy of the object, seeing how their holograms were not focused on Nihlus' hand, but slightly left of it. "It seems to be some kind of heatsink. Capable of absorbing greater amounts of heat than our normal ones, but it can't dissipate it as fast as our own. It may not even be able to dissipate at all, depending on what it uses to absorb the heat."

"_Hmm, what are you getting at?" _Sparatus asked, leaning slightly forward as he put a hand on his chin.

"I managed to catch a few glimpses of geth troopers using these heat sinks. I was wondering how they could sustain such high rates of fire, when I noticed they swapped their heatsinks for new ones."

"_That is extremely dangerous! Full capacity heat sinks have caused third degree burns!"_ Tevos exclaimed, eyes going wide at the implication.

"_Not if you are a synthetic," _Councilor Valern said thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin. _"Yes, a simple and fast change would allow them to fire in longer bursts compared to our own soldiers, who have to manage heat buildup in their weapons."_

"Ooh, that could solve the heat problem with Archimedes! Have ejectable heat sinks on it!" Tali said excitedly, before noticing that everyone was looking at her. "Did I say that one aloud?"

"_Who is this?"_ Sparatus demanded as Tevos looked at her curiously and Valern was typing furiously into his console. Nihlus gestured Tali to step forward.

"This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. As I outlined in my report, we came here to seek her to fulfil a promise made by candidate Shepard. She had further proof of Saren's guilt, which was included in the report."

"_Capturing data from the geth is not a small feat,"_ Valern said as he finished typing, nodding to himself. _"You can be proud of your skills,"_ Ashley noticed that the young quarian's stance seemed somewhat lighter as a result.

"Well, at least you can take the credit for it," Shepard said with a slight smirk. The turian and asari Councilors were still looking at Tali curiously, while Valern was rapidly typing something into his console.

"_Hmm, we can have our research and development to look over it, but until I see results, I doubt it will offers us any meaningful advantages,"_ Sparatus said, waving his hand. _"Send us the samples and we will have people look into them."_

"As you wish, Councilors," Nihlus nodded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The debriefing was over some time later, after the Council had gone over the mission progress and requested clarifications on some things. There were also questions on how Etel and Williams had worked together, with Nihlus complimenting both of them for their ability to do so.

"So, want a brief tour of the ship? So you know where to go when asked," Williams asked after Nihlus had left them in the comm room.

"That would be nice," Tali said. Etel could see from her stance that she was eager to see more of the ship, especially since it was top of the line.

"Alright, follow me," Williams said, gesturing them to follow. Etel and Tali followed her, Etel mainly because she wanted to look after Tali.

"This is the CIC. Normally this would be barred, but due to the layout of the ship, we will be passing through here often," Williams explained as they stepped to Combat Information Center.

"How so?" Tali asked.

"The main airlocks are at the front of the ship, don't ask why. I didn't design the ship. So each time we leave by foot rather than with the Mako, that's how we get off."

"Just don't touch anything without permission and it should be fine, right?" Etel said, before looking at Williams for confirmation. Williams nodded.

"I guess I should have you meet Joker, our pilot. He will be responsible for keeping us alive while onboard this ship," Williams said, walking towards to front of the ship. Tali followed her immediately, while Etel took one more look around the CIC.

One they reached the cockpit, Joker turned around in his chair, looking over the trio.

"So, who's the quarian?" Joker asked as he looked towards Tali in particular.

"This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, the quarian we came looking for," Williams answered, gesturing to Tali who was standing behind her, looking around the ship. "Tali, this is Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, also known as Joker."

"Welcome aboard," Joker said.

"Hi," Tali said, raising her hand.

"She will be joining us, under my protection," Etel concluded.

"Ah, so the master has taken a padawan?"

"A... what?" Etel asked, tilting her head at the strange word.

"He is quoting some old movie, Star... something," Williams said, shaking her head with a grin.

"Star Wars, it's a classic series of movies!" Joker protested, "Besides," Joker continued as he pointed to Etel, "she got the Force and she's a Knight, she is obviously a Jedi! And that omni-blade's a lightsaber if I've seen one!"

"I repeat, a what?" Etel said, confused. Force? Jedi? Lightsabers?

"Just ignore him. C'mon, I should show you the medbay and the crew quarters," Williams concluded, gesturing for Etel and Tali to follow her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Chapter End**

Author's Notes:

_Yes, the Council is listening to the possibility of the Reapers existing. They also give it a fair shake in canon, but the evidence was never thick enough in ME1 to justify more than Valern asking about it once before shrugging it off as a myth._

_Also, if reading the Codex entry below and you wonder at the long titles... just check the titles of some real life monarchs like Charles the Fifth of the Holy Roman Empire. This is tame by those standards._

_Also, thanks to swemand47, Lone Gundamn, the Porater, reality deviant, and the guest reviewer for their reviews._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex Entries:**

**Codex: The Emperor of the Star Empire**

The Emperor of the Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem is the reigning monarch of the Star Empire. He, or she, is considered to be God's messenger on the material world as well as the supreme authority of mankind and in all matters of faith. His or her full title is His/Her Holiness, His/Her Highness, the Regent of God, Emperor/Empress of Mankind, King/Queen of Jerusalem, High Priest/Priestess of the Faith of Abraham, Archduke/Archduchess of Hasir, Duke/Duchess of Nod, Baron/Baroness of New Jerusalem, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, the Supreme Commander of Chivalric Orders, and Grandmaster of the Hashashins. However, this is commonly abbreviated as simply the Emperor of Mankind when arriving in foreign territories or in diplomatic meetings in the interest of saving time.

The female version of the title Emperor is called Empress However, female rulers of the Star Empire are rare. Out of thirty-four Imperial Monarchs, only six have been females. The crown is passed down to the oldest living descendant of the Emperor when the monarch passes away or otherwise retires. However, most Emperors will rule for life unless their age has left them unable to serve. In the event that the monarch does not have any living descendants, the crown goes to closest living relative. However, a person can be disqualified from this inheritance if they either abandon the Faith of Abraham or marry an alien. The person must also not be an illegitimate child to have a claim on the throne.

The wife or husband of the Emperor or Empress is officially called the Imperial Consort. While legally having no limits of from what class the Consort can come from, it is traditional for the Emperor to choose one from the Noble class. Note that despite not having legal power in the state matters, the significant other of the Emperor is usually respected.


	11. Normandy New Syracusae to Alliance Space

"Williams, do you have a minute?"

"Uh, sure," Ashley answered as she looked at Shepard as the two were taking the elevator back up from the engineering bay. "Something wrong?"

"Not here," Shepard said and nodded in the direction of the sleeping pods as the elevator came to a halt. Ashley frowned but followed, tugging at the end of the sleeve of her service uniform.

As they reached the end of the sleeping pods, Shepard glanced around before nodding. Ashley was on guard, the entire thing felt conspiratorial to her and she kept her gaze towards the sword on Shepard's belt.

"I didn't want to say this in front of everyone, and you're the only one here I can really share this with," Shepard explained, keeping her voice to a hushed whisper.

Ashley simply folded her arms. "Why's that?"

"Let me explain, and hopefully you'll understand why," the Knight Hospitaller inhaled, as if mentally bracing herself before she continued on. "It's the vision from the beacon back on Eden Prime. It's still going on in my head."

Frowning in confusion, Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Uh, so you still see that? Probably a side effect of the beacon. I'm not sure…"

"If I should keep it quiet? Maybe," Shepard admitted as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "But… they act up whenever I hear that recording between Saren and Benezia. When they talk about those 'Reapers'. I'm still not sure what it is, though, but… I think the visions are about whatever Saren's working for."

"Wait a moment, are you saying the beacon gave you a vision of the Reapers that Saren's on about?" Ashley asked incredulously, understanding why Shepard refused to bring it up earlier.

"I don't know," Shepard explained as she put a hand on her head, "but I think the vision is about the Reapers attacking… or doing something. Organics being slaughtered by synthetics, like pigs at a butcher's. I can't make sense of it, but… I just have this feeling."

"So you didn't overload your amp and have headaches from that, did you?" Ashley asked as she remembered that Shepard had left when they did their theorizing. "You were really seeing those visions again."

Shepard simply nodded, seemingly ashamed.

Ashley had two things in mind. One side of her wanted to go to Nihlus immediately with this. She wanted to say that the reason she wanted to tell the Spectre was because it was potentially mission important and that they needed to find a way of figuring it out. Yet, Ashley knew herself better than that. She really wanted to get Shepard in trouble, to make her look crazy, ill suited for being a Spectre. To win, essentially. _All it takes is one comment,_ she realized, _and you've put a stain on the Empire and scored one for the Alliance._

But there was another part of her that realized the situation Shepard was in, sympathized with her. Shepard had no one to turn to - Nihlus was supposed to be evaluating them and outright saying _'I'm having visions'_ would hurt her candidacy, maybe even bring some sort of dishonor to her family depending on how that worked in the Empire. Anderson and Kaidan, even Doctor Chakwas, they were all Alliance operatives. Tali was a childhood friend, and would you tell a friend that you were seeing things? And if Shepard did call her family while they were in range of New Syracusae's temporary comm buoy, would she want to tell her parents she was seeing things? To say nothing of Garrus and Wrex, neither of them she knew very well.

"Okay Shepard… I just have one thing to ask," Ashley said. "Why me?"

"I'll be honest, I'm not even sure if I should have shared this with you," Shepard admitted dejectedly, "but, I'm out of options."

"But why me and not Nihlus, or even call your family about it?" Ashley asked. "They'd be probably be more sympathetic about it than me."

"Maybe," Shepard said as she glanced down the double row of sleeping pods, "but Nihlus is supposed to be evaluating us and would you tell your family you're seeing visions?"

"Fair point," she admitted as she considered that prospect.

"But you? You're my partner as a Spectre candidate, and well…" she trailed off briefly before finishing. "You are a professional."

"So you were hoping that I wouldn't just run to Nihlus and tattle?" Ashley asked as she let her arms drop to her side.

"A bit, but I felt like I had to tell someone. I'm not sure if I'm going crazy, or if I just need to deal with it and wait for it to go away."

"I understand," Ashley said, "No one here trusts you because of your family. They just see your family name, they don't see the woman you really are. Telling them this would just confirm their suspicions."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked with a frown.

"You remember how my grandfather was the one defending Shanxi?" Shepard nodded and Ashley continued. "Well, growing up I had to deal with that. The Alliance dropped the charges, but there were a lot of people who still blamed him for Shanxi. They completely ignored how outclassed he was, how he was stuck with the cards he had. And I had to grow up as the granddaughter of 'the traitor who betrayed Shanxi to the aliens'."

"That bad?" Shepard asked in surprise. "I thought your grandfather gave the turians a good fight given the odds he had and conducted himself honorably."

"Yeah, well, you can't undo reputation with the wave of a hand," Ashley said with a shrug. "But that's what you're up against here. People on this ship see you as this knight from a theocracy and immediately make presumptions from our own history, they don't judge you by your own merits. They see the noble, the knight, the praying, but not the person beneath it. Visions… well, that'd just make them think you're crazy, y'know? Believing in something that belonged in the stone age."

Shepard pursed her lips briefly. "So… you're not going to tell Nihlus?"

Ashley, much to her surprise, shook her head. "No, not unless it becomes important to the mission. But if this gets worse we really should tell him."

"Well, if it gets very bad and I can't, at least you know now," Shepard glanced towards the mess hall again. "Thank you, this means a lot to me."

"You're welcome. We should probably head back before someone wonders what we're doing."

"Go ahead, it's getting close to time anyways."

Ashley simply nodded and walked away. She was still trying to understand exactly what prayers a set number of times per day achieved, how it made someone a better person.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Five Minutes Later**

"_Ow, ow, OW!_" Ashley could hear Jenkins complain as she entered the medbay and saw Jenkins sitting on one of the gurneys.

"Okay, what did he do this time?" she asked Chakwas, who was grinning as she applied some medi-gel on small burns on Jenkins' hand.

"He just tried his new toy," Chakwas explained with a practiced deadpan, "and learned why weapons development is done in secure and safe environments, not on a ship with real people shooting."

"Hey, it worked..." Jenkins muttered.

"For one shot, before the heat slagged the internals," Chakwas added. Ashley shook her head. Jenkins' weapon project was known amongst the crew, even if nobody expected anything to come out of it. There was even a betting pool as to how many times it would explode in his face.

"Jenkins, try to be more careful next time," Ashley chided gently. "We can't have people getting hurt on the _Normandy_. The geth do a damn good job at it already, might as well not help them," Although she was okay with the idea, she realized now that she would have to pay far closer attention to it than before. If it became too dangerous for people to be around him working on it, she would have to completely halt the project.

"Understood, ma'am. Next time I'll be sure set up a stand and remotely fire it."

"And make sure you don't blow a hole in the hull; set up an extra range barrier if you need to."

"That too," Jenkins laughed. Ashley nodded, glad to see that he had not been hurt too much.

"How bad?" Ashley asked.

"Minor burns," Chakwas explained offhandedly as she activated a display on her omni-tool and quickly filed what looked to be a report. "Nothing too serious, he was smart enough to wear his hardsuit when he tried it. Otherwise… well, I'm not sure how bad it would be."

"And how's the hardsuit?" Ashley asked, noticing that Jenkins had removed it already.

"Just a few scratches."

After Chakwas was finished filing the report and shut her omni-tool down, Ashley turned to her.

"Doctor, could you leave us for a moment? We have some things we need to discuss," she asked Chakwas, who merely nodded and left the infirmary. Jenkins looked distinctly uncomfortable as he stood back to his full height.

"Right. First thing first, I want you to understand this is not an official reprimand. Just a friendly warning between comrades, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jenkins nodded, looking worried.

"Take care what you say when around Imperials, or to that matter anyone. I do not want any of them thinking we are ignorant of their culture or consider them..." Ashley paused, considering how to put it.

"Inferior?" Jenkins supplied cautiously.

"Not the word I would have used, but yes. We don't want to look condescending."

"I understand. Never really met any Imperials until now and most of what I know come from the extranet."

"You'd have better luck at asking random people for rumors, if you want anything accurate," Ashley said with a grin, shaking her head. Jenkins simply shrugged, though he was grinning too.

"Yeah, pretty much," Jenkins admitted before he paused, glancing at the wall briefly before turning back to her. "Though, those soldiers we worked with weren't really that different. Sure, there was the religious stuff, but beyond that... if not for the armor, you might as well have been in a random Alliance marine unit."

"Despite what the conspiracy theorists say, they're still human."

"Yeah..." Jenkins fell silent. Feeling that she had made her point, Ashley patted Jenkins shoulder.

"Just think before you say something. You're a good soldier and I'd hate to have to send you to another command due to diplomacy."

"Thanks," Jenkins said. Ashley nodded and left, leaving Jenkins sitting in the medbay with his thoughts.

"Commander," Chakwas said as Ashley stepped out.

"Something wrong, doctor?"

"No, but if you see our new recruit, could you ask her to stop by? I need to talk to her about medical matters."

Ashley froze, realizing that she had not considered the possible complications medically by bringing Tali aboard. "Er, is everything alright?"

"I think we'll be fine, so long as we don't need to take the suit off and keep it off. But if we get to that stage, the _Normandy_ is not equipped to handle that," Chakwas explained sternly. "If it gets that bad, we will need to transfer her elsewhere for treatment. The best I would be able to do is stabilize her until then."

Ashley nodded. The _Normandy_ was a human warship built for stealth, not a medical frigate with the advanced facilities required for intensive treatment. "I understand; I'll go find her."

XXXXXXXXX

"I'll talk to you later when I have the chance," Tali said as their time ended.

"_Please try to at least send an e-mail,"_ her father said. _"We're both worried."_

"I'll be fine, father," Tali answered as she smirked, "I'm with Etel, remember? Besides, these Alliance marines aren't that bad. They've been nice to me so far."

"_Still, be careful."_

"Love you too, dad," she retorted as she hung up and the hologram fizzled out.

"_... and we're out,"_ Joker said over the intercom. _"So uh, are all quarians that paranoid, or is it just because of what happened?"_

Tali rolled her eyes. "How would your parents react if you went missing for a few days and it turned out you were in the middle of a warzone?"

"_Touche. Anyways, I better see about getting us out of the system," _the pilot answered before the intercom cut out. Tali turned to walk out, but saw Kaidan walking in.

"You need to use the terminal?" Tali asked as the Alliance biotic stopped.

"Nah," he answered, "I wanted to talk to you."

Tali paused, frowning as she looked at him. "You did?"

"Yeah; you settling in alright? I know the commander gave you the tour, but we did kinda pull you in on short notice."

"It's been fine so far," she answered with a shrug. "Probably going to take a bit of getting used to. How loud are the ship's engines? I barely heard anything when we left orbit."

"Very quiet," Kaidan said with a slight smirk. "I can't share the details, but this isn't an old tramp freighter where the stuff rattles."

"Huh. My parents would have had a hard time with that," she said as she shook her head at the memories.

"Why? Wouldn't loud engines be a bad thing?"

"Normally, but apparently on the Flotilla silent engines meant something was broken. My parents used to leave a music player on at night just so they could sleep."

Kaidan paused, shifting his weight from side to side as he curled his lip. "You uh… aren't going to have a problem, are you?"

"No, I never really had that problem. I don't remember much about life on the Flotilla and they grew out of it eventually," she gestured along the hallway out of the briefing room and the two started walking out. There was a shake through the _Normandy_ as it began to liftoff from the spaceport, but otherwise the ship had run through the takeoff procedure smoothly.

"Benefits of growing up on terra firma, huh?"

"Terra Firma? Not that racist party of hacks, right?" Tali asked incredulously.

"Oh, sorry," the biotic verbally backpedaled as they started walking down. "Human saying; Latin actually; 'firm earth'. Solid ground, y'know? It's where they got the name."

Tali nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I dunno; I mean, growing up wasn't exactly easy on Akko given that the planet was undergoing geological engineering, but it was nice to not have to worry about a hull breach."

"I can imagine. I grew up on Earth, but I've spent enough time in space I actually qualify for the spacer seats in the Alliance parliament."

"Really?" Tali asked curiously. "Huh; how does that work anyways? Spacer seats, that is. The Empire doesn't really have anything like that since most of our spacers are either merchants working for a guild or the military."

Before Kaidan could answer, Williams walked up to them as she was standing outside of the medbay. "Hey, Tali," Williams said, "Doctor Chakwas asked me to send you her way when you had some time. Also, if you need somewhere quiet, Shepard's in the back of the sleeping pods."

"Why?" Tali asked curiously before activating her omni-tool and glancing down and realizing the time. "Oh. Right. Uh, thanks, Commander."

"No problem," she answered. "Hey Kaidan, you have a moment?"

"Sure," Kaidan said.

XXXXXXXXX

"Spectre Kryik, uh, what can I do for you?"

"Relax, Servicemen Emerson," Nihlus said calmly as he looked at the _Normandy_'s requisitions officer.

"Uh, okay," Emerson said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Spectres make me a bit uneasy."

"Understandable, but I need to talk to you about special munitions, such as the Sledgehammer rounds I use for my shotgun," Nihlus pulled his shotgun from its holster and let the serviceman look at it. Emerson nodded slowly, putting a hand to his chin as he looked at the weapon briefly.

"So, gearing up in full now?"

"Not for me, I already have most of my kit. For the rest of the crew. A war is starting, and we need full capability for the missions we're pulling. Standard issue won't cut it."

"I understand," he said. "I've been maintaining some arms dealing to supply the Commander with some gear. That Katana IV she uses as a shotgun? Got it through me."

Nihlus tilted his head. "I take it the Alliance has some loose regs?"

"More a pragmatic acceptance, though that might explain my unease with high ranking authority figures," Emerson glanced towards the weapons lockers across the bay where Wrex was leaning. "Standard issue gear is issued out to our soldiers for free of course - the Alliance wouldn't be intact if soldiers had to buy their armor and weapons. But that's only for the standard issue."

"Anything above that, a soldier has to buy themselves," Nihlus finished, nodding slowly.

"Not quite, the Alliance does bankroll the special forces with better gear because of the situations they get sent into, but for the average soldier in a frontier platoon… yes."

"Not the best way to operate, but it at least gets the job done. The Alliance is okay with non-standard weapons?"

"There's some regulations, they need to be on par with the Alliance's standards at minimum and the tracer system needs to use the Alliance's standard. Otherwise, free game… if they can pay for it and the Captain approves," he explained with a shrug.

"Fair enough," Nihlus said, "but you can acquire the special munitions we need?"

"Easily, I've got the license access for Aldrin Labs, Hahne-Kedar, and Arikae Industries and all three of them work on ammo kits. Though if you want to go through another provider, I'll need to borrow your license access."

Nihlus nodded. "Good, I should be able to supply some credits for the team as a whole to use in kitting out."

"Um, couldn't we just have the Council bankroll it? I mean, you are a Spectre," Emerson asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Would probably simplify it a lot."

"We could ask, but Spectres are supposed to operate independently," Nihlus explained. "Common misconception; everyone assumes the Council bankrolls Spectres entirely. That's actually far from the truth; the main thing they give us is authority to do what is needed."

"Why? Wouldn't it be a good idea to give the elite the resources they need?"

Nihlus paused a moment before shrugging. "There's reasons why Spectres are supposed to supply themselves."

"Alright," Emerson said as he glanced to the lift briefly. "I'll take your word for it, but the credits are going to have to come from somewhere."

XXXXXXX

"So," Kaidan said as he folded his arms after listening to Ashley's explanation. "Jenkins burned himself with his project?"

"Yeah," she answered as they sat across from each other in the mess hall. "You think it'll continue to be a problem?"

"Probably, but as long as he tests it safely now that he's learned his lesson, he shouldn't have any major issues."

"Let's hope he did," another voice behind Ashley cut in. The two turned to see Anderson holding a cup of coffee. "At ease," he said before either of them could stand. "I just wanted to bring you two up to speed. We're heading back to Alliance space; Admiral Hackett doesn't want us hanging around in Imperial space longer than we have to."

"Did you run into trouble with the Imperials?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah, one of those female Imp knights said you guys got held at the customs station," Ashley added as she remembered the end of the battle.

"We were, but not unreasonably," Anderson said. "They didn't buy it at first. In fact, the ensign who was overseeing our call thought it was some sort of trick. He wanted to board us and search the ship top to bottom."

Ashley clenched her fist. "I'm guessing you told him where to stick that idea?"

"More tactfully than that," Anderson said with a smile as he took a seat. "Luckily the station commander was around and had a cooler head. He told the ensign to stand down. He did have us stay within the station's guns, though I don't blame them for that."

"You don't?" Kaidan said in surprise.

"Well, Joker volunteered to fly like a maniac to get us clear if needed, but I didn't think we had to. They were just doing their job and trying to not start a diplomatic incident without also compromising the border," Anderson shrugged. "I don't begrudge them for that, even if I would have decked the ensign if he tried to board us by force."

_Or shot him,_ Ashley suspected as she looked at the N7 Captain. Anderson was more diplomatic than some Alliance soldiers, but when his crew was in trouble she had seem him become surprisingly lethal, going for the killing blow until a threat is over. He rarely showed that, though, thanks to being assigned to ship or base assignments while she was in the field for him. And she held no doubts that had that ensign tried to use weapons, Anderson would of retaliated and Joker would get to dodge perimeter defenses again.

"So, what about those ladies who bailed us out?" Kaidan asked. "They didn't look or act like standard troops. Another one of those knight orders?"

"As far as I can tell," Anderson admitted with a shrug. "They arrived about an hour after we did. Communication was a little slow since we needed to let the ensign try to get things together."

"I wonder how many soldiers died at New Syracusae because of the delay," Ashley wondered aloud as she shook her head.

"Probably less than if that knight fleet didn't arrive while passing through," Anderson gently chided. "Again, I don't blame them for not trusting our word."

"I guess. Kinda weird seeing an all-female group of knights though," Ashley admitted before she realized something. "Wait a minute, have we ran into any male knights from the Empire yet?" The other two shrugged as Jenkins came out of the medbay.

"At ease," Anderson said as Jenkins was about to snap to attention as he turned towards them. "Actually, have a seat Jenkins. How're you doing?"

"I'll be fine," he said as he took his seat. "Definitely doing it remotely next time," he glanced around. "So uh, Commander, how'd that meeting go with the Duchess? You didn't mention much about that."

"Oh, pretty well all things considered," Ashley said as she realized she had forgotten to fill them in on what had happened. "Though here's the punchline: Emperor Baldwin showed up by holo."

The other three's eyes went wide as Ashley explained what had happened there and summarized the subsequent conversation in the command center. As she finished, Jenkins was curling his lip in disgust.

"I can't believe that asshole was demanding you bow," Jenkins said. "Seriously, you're not even an Imp! I don't give a rat's ass if they think their big E's the ruler of all mankind, he ain't."

"Easy," Ashley said with a smirk at Jenkins' independent streak, "it wasn't even the emperor himself demanding it; it was one of the local generals. Baldwin told him to shut up about it."

"Still…" Jenkins said, "it is sort of implying that we're under their rule."

"In fairness, he is their head of state," Kaidan said thoughtfully. "Still, should probably follow Hackett's Guide to that."

"'_Salute anything you can't eat or kill_'?" Anderson supplied with a smirk.

"I was thinking '_don't be an ass'_, but that works too," Kaidan admitted as he shrugged.

"Yeah, who wants to be a donkey?" Jenkins grinned.

"Regardless," Ashley cut in as she tried to sober the conversation, "we're going to need to figure something out if this happens again. We can't really afford to do it Imperial style since that comes with a lot of connotations that Udina would hang us for."

Anderson nodded. "Agreed. Unless you hear from me or a superior officer, just give a salute or lower your head. Show some respect for rank, but nothing more. Or better, let Shepard and the quarian handle the pleasantries since they're actually Imperial."

"Yeah," Jenkins said as he glanced down the hall where the two were. "About that… why would quarians join the Empire?"

"That's something you should her ask yourself, Richard," Anderson said, using Jenkins' first name. "I know you're not a fan of the Empire, but there's some questions that you should just ask. Don't be annoying about it, if they don't want to talk about it don't press them, but you'd be better off getting to know them than just relying on what you stumble on."

"Besides," Kaidan said, "other species are just like us; they're all different, all..." he paused, "I don't want to say _human_ since that's not right…"

"People, maybe?" Ashley supplied.

"Yeah, maybe," the biotic shrugged as Shepard and Tali were standing up. "But if you really are uncomfortable around them, I'd just keep my distance and keep it polite."

"Think I'll do that for now," Jenkins said as he stood up. "I mean, they're more like us than I thought, but it's still centuries of difference. And catch up, in some areas."

Ashley shook her head as Jenkins walked away as the two Imperials were coming back from the bow end of the sleeping pods. "He's learning," Kaidan said thoughtfully. "I think it'll just take some time."

"I don't blame him, though," Ashley admitted.

"Blame who for what?" Tali asked curiously, jolting Ashley from finishing her admission. "And do you have any food? I haven't eaten in a while."

"Should be some dextro-amino rations," Anderson said as he gestured to a set of lockers on the wall of the medbay. "Though you may need to prepare them yourself."

"Thanks," Tali said as she walked off and Shepard glanced around.

"So, where're we headed next, Captain?" she asked.

"Alliance space. The brass wants us out of Imperial territory ASAP," Anderson explained, "Safety precaution given the mission's over."

Shepard nodded. "Thank you again for helping me with this. I know, it wasn't the mission, but…"

"It did help us greatly," Anderson said with a nod.

"Mind, we were damn lucky in that regard," Ashley pointed out. "I mean, we're not going to be this lucky all the time. How long were the odds?"

"Astronomical," Kaidan said. "Though, in hindsight it does make sense. But without that, yeah, I never would've guessed we would win this big against Saren."

"Still," Anderson said seriously, "we should try to keep our detours to a minimum, at least while we have active leads. When datamining, maybe we can, but…"

"... but while we have destinations, minimize detours," Shepard finished with a nod. "I understand, Captain. And again, thank you."

"You're welcome, Knight," Anderson said with a nod as he rose. "I should get up to the bridge and make sure Joker hasn't gotten us into a race with some customs frigate."

"_A race they would lose, Captain,"_ Joker cut in by the intercom. _"But no, you're fine. We should be at the relays in a few hours then its a few relay jumps until we're back in Alliance space."_

"Good," Anderson said with a nod.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Fifteen Minutes Later**

"Hey guys, listen to this!" one of the crew members shouted to the group in the mess hall, using his omni-tool to route the radio to the speakers.

"_So, tell us Jill, what's the latest news?"_ a male voice asked, before a woman answered.

"_Well, as it turns out, the heroes of Eden Prime have not been resting on their laurels. Recent reports indicate that our brave men and women have expanded their work area."_

"The what of Eden Prime?" Ashley asked, raising her eyebrow.

"_Interesting, what else can you tell us?"_

"_Just yesterday, the Imperial colony New Syracusae was under attack by the geth, much like our own Eden Prime. Yet, our heroes rushed to the defense of the colony!"_

"We actually stumbled on it..." Etel muttered, earning a chuckle from Kaidan.

"_That's quite a distance to go."_

"_Quite so, but Alliance marines never run from a battle."_

"Last I checked there were three Alliance marines and about an army worth of PDF and Imperial Army troops. You could at least credit them," Tali added bitterly.

"It's the Alliance News Network. Of course they will talk about the Alliance's marines," Etel said, before gesturing Tali to quiet down.

"_So, I assume that the colony was saved?"_

"_Indeed, with the help of _SSV Normandy, _the local fleet was informed of the attack. The counter-attack took the geth by surprise."_

"There's a reason Alliance Marines like to take shots at the ANN camera drones," Ashley remarked, earning a chuckle from the crew and the two Imperials with them.

"_Well, let's hope that our heroes keep up the good work, the galaxy is a big place."_

"_Indeed."_

"_Now, in other news, the latest product line of..."_ the voice veered off as the crewman turned the PA off.

"So, heroes, eh?" the cook asked, leaning over. "Can I get an autograph? I bet I could sell it for good credits and then get some _real_ food for once."

"Oh, shut it," Ashley said, though there was no malice in her voice. "You couldn't make real food even if we hired a professional cook do it for you."

"Barbarians, no respect for the one who has to work with RMEs..."

"At least RMEs are something edible," Kaidan quipped.

"Still, who the hell came up with that 'heroes' crap?" Ashley asked.

"If your news network is anything like Nod News Corporation... Most likely someone at finances or in the military," Etel said.

"So, the propaganda machine is starting up?" Kaidan asked.

"Probably," Ashley answered with a sigh. "They need to distract people from the horrors of war, so they use whatever they can to make it seem heroic. I guess we were the best choice."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Several Hours Later**

"Coming out of the relay now," Joker said as Anderson stood behind him, nodding to himself. The blue fog that surrounded a ship during relay travel - the blue shifting of mass effect fields - faded away as the ship finished slowing down to sublight and they arrived near the relay where an Alliance cruiser and several wolfpacks of frigates were waiting.

"Incoming transmission from the Alliance patrol," Joker said.

"Put it through, "Anderson ordered.

"_SSV _Normandy_, this is the SSV _Moscow,_ flagship for the 63rd Scout Flotilla. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich is to come aboard to speak to your captain in person."_

"Understood," Anderson answered as Nihlus walked up behind him.

"An inspection?" Nihlus asked coolly.

"Possibly. But if it is, we have nothing to hide."

"No," Nihlus admitted as the _Normandy_ glided up towards the _Moscow_.

Anderson paused thoughtfully, activating his omni-tool. "Williams, could you report to the bridge?"

"_Aye aye, Captain,_" she answered.

The _Normandy_ was in a holding position and a docking tube from the cruiser extended and latched onto the ship's airlock. Joker was reading off numbers, but Anderson tuned it out as he prepared to face the Rear Admiral and Ashley arrived, giving him a nod. As soon as the docking tube was secure and the airlock pressures had normalized, it opened and a grizzled man of middle age walked on board flanked by two marines in full armor with pistols in hand.

_Not that that would help,_ Anderson dryly noted to himself as Nihlus had his shotgun on his armor, even if he was missing the more cumbersome parts of it.

"Attention!" Ashley said as she snapped to attention. Anderson also saluted.

"At ease," Mikhailovich said as he returned it. "Captain Anderson, you are aware that you, your crew, and this ship were slated for the 63rd Scout Flotilla after shakedown, correct?"

"Yes, Admiral."

"And yet you allowed the Council to get their claws, paws, tentacles… whatever, on your crew, and on _our_ ship?"

Anderson noticed both Ashley and Nihlus tensing in response before he continued on. "I'm aware, sir, but the orders came from up top per the Spectre evaluations."

"Ah yes, the Spectre evaluations," he glanced at Ashley and Nihlus. "I don't begrudge the politicians permitting this, it is a tremendous opportunity to allow the Alliance to remind the galaxy what humanity truly is, but I _do_ begrudge the security risks."

"I take it you're here to ensure that those risks are sealed?" Anderson asked.

"Correct," Mikhailovich said with a nod. "This will not be a full inspection, though I will be doing such once the _Normandy_ has been put more thoroughly through its paces. Wait here, I will not talk long."

"I understand, take as much time as you need." Anderson said. Mikhailovich nodded and gestured to his two guards to follow him.

"I could have used Spectre authority to get us through faster," Nihlus noted.

"Just because we can doesn't mean we should," Anderson answered with a shrug. "Besides, we did just come from Imperial territory."

"True enough," Nihlus admitted with a shrug as they waited for Michailovich to finish.

It did not take very long, though the admiral looked quite annoyed. "Everything seems to check out," the admiral said coldly, "though I do disagree with the broad freedoms you've given the non-Alliance crew."

"They're barred from the drive core and the only reason we allow them through the CIC is because that's where our main airlock is," Anderson pointed out immediately. "Besides, the crew is aware that they aren't allowed to access vital systems of the ship so if they tried to do so it would be spotted."

"Very well," Michailovich said as he rubbed his chin. "No Imperial listening devices or trackers were found either. _Moscow_, is the hull scan complete?"

"_Yes sir,"_ an ensign from the cruiser answered.

"Anything?"

"_Negative; the hull is clean save for carbon scoring and the usual particle debris."_

"Very well. Good hunting, Captain." The Alliance personnel exchanged salutes and Nihlus gave Michailovich a brief nod before the Rear Admiral left with both his body guards.

"He looked unhappy," Ashley remarked as the airlock disengaged.

"He's always angry," Anderson explained as he shrugged. "And he's not much for sneaking around with a warship like this either, he prefers fighting the enemy directly."

"Normandy_, you are clear to proceed,"_ a voice said on the radio - the officer who had told them to await the Rear Admiral.

"Understood, _Moscow_, we copy," Joker answered as he began checking the airlocks.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

"Haven't been in Imperial territory for a while," Wrex commented as he and Etel were in the engineering bay doing final touches to repair their armor and fixing the smaller, more intricate parts. Meanwhile Garrus was on the other side of the bay working on his sniper rifle.

"Really?" Etel asked curiously, looking at the krogan. "Any stories to tell?"

"There's no story," the krogan bitterly answered. "Go ask the turians if you want stories, or one of the Alliance types. I'm sure they've got stories you'd be interested in."

"Krogan live for centuries," she pointed out, surprised at the response. "Don't tell me you haven't had a few adventures?"

"Well there was this one time where the turians almost wiped out our entire race," he looked at her blankly, "That was fun."

Etel winced. "I remember learning about that. Mind, humans almost had it just as bad."

The krogan growled, "What humanity went through wasn't even close."

"No, we were lucky," she admitted, "but we got played around with by higher powers too. I mean, the batarians found us killing each other with iron swords and spears, the salarians found the krogan in a similar situation. And we both got grabbed to serve them; the salarians grabbed the krogan for the Rachni Wars, the batarians wanted slaves."

"And I suppose the batarians also sterilized you?" the krogan growled angrily, "Making it damn near impossible to reproduce?"

Etel paused, about to comment about the fact the genophage only reduced it to one in a thousand rather than outright stopping reproduction before she bit her tongue and shook her head, rocking on her heels briefly as she understood she had hit a touchy subject. "No, I guess not."

"Look, I don't expect you to understand, but don't compare humanity's fate to the krogan. Especially with the Systems Alliance around." Wrex growled before turning back to his armor, though the wide field of vision krogan had meant she was still in his line of sight. "Though… I suppose we are both products of the galaxy shitting on the little guys."

"Humanity was just fortunate enough to not get the short stick," Etel admitted before she curled her lip. "It isn't too hard to shit on the galaxy and get away with it. I mean, the batarians might have to lie about how good their economy is, but they're still running around doing their shit, and the Citadel…" she trailed off as Wrex simply nodded.

"Still controls the Krogan DMZ with their fleets." He closed his eyes before sighing. "Not that it matters anymore, even if it does mean it's easy to get abused without justice. I gave up on the krogan a long time ago."

"Why?" Etel asked with a frown. "They're still alive. And killing a krogan calls for anti-tank weapons half the time."

"Maybe. But it's not the genophage that's killing us," Wrex explained. "We're killing ourselves just fine. The genophage just meant we can't absorb the blows. No one's interested in staying in our home system anymore."

"Why's that a bad thing? Almost every other species left their home planet and prospered. For God's sake, the Empire never even knew where it was for a thousand years and we managed to make a place for ourselves amongst the Citadel." She glanced behind her as she saw Garrus taking the lift back up. "My family is even responsible for getting a planet ready for more widespread colonization!"

"Exactly: other species go out to colonize. Krogan go out to find fights. We've lost hope, Shepard." Wrex looked pained, much to Etel's surprise, like it was something that had happened to him personally. "No one wants to stick around to try and put our civilization back together. So we leave, hire ourselves out to be the trophy bodyguards or for whatever murder someone wants done, and don't look back." The krogan shook his head slowly.

"I understand," Etel said as she turned her attention back to the armor. She never expected a krogan to point out the fault in his fellow krogan in regards to them dying out. There was more to Wrex than met the eye…

"Though," Wrex said suddenly, jolting her from her thoughts, "there was one time when some Imperial preachers came to Tuchanka. Brave souls, coming to face the wildlife there to spread their word to a populace armed to the teeth and little love for outsiders."

She winced. Missionaries who went to Tuchanka to try and bring the Faith of Abraham to the downtrodden krogan clans tended to have high casualty rates. "What happened to them?"

"They lived, for once, but that was because they ran into me after a horde of wild varren. Interesting bunch, taking the loss of their friend to those vermin with pride and hoping to achieve something greater," he gave a sad smile, or what Etel thought was a smile. "They didn't convert anyone, they almost never do, but they tried for quite a while until they had to return home."

"Why are you telling me this?" Etel asked with a frown.

"I only just remembered, and you did ask if I had interesting stories. I figured it'd be something you could relate to."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, Williams."

Ashley turned to see Garrus walking into the _Normandy_'s sleeping pods just as she was about to get into one. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, just curious about something," Garrus admitted. "This about normal for a human tour of duty?"

"Uh, fighting a rogue Spectre, his asari matriarch friend, and an army of synthetics backed by scary bug aliens from who knows where, all under the command of another Spectre?" Ashley retorted in surprise. "No, they didn't really cover that in basic."

"Though I'm sure Palaven has some contingency for that; or the elcor," Garrus said, though the rigid facial features meant she couldn't tell whether he was joking or not.

"I don't suppose they'd be willing to share?" she asked to distract herself from that line of thought.

"Let's not involve the bureaucracy, that's half of why I left C-Sec."

"Fair enough," Ashley answered. "So, where'd you learn to be an impressive a sniper? I'm pretty sure that's not standard issue for police officers."

"Mandatory military training," Garrus explained. "All turians in the Hierarchy and most of the Terminus colonies do it."

"Really?" Ashley asked curiously. She had heard about the turians being extremely militaristic, but she had never seen it up close before.

"Yup. When a turian's fifteenth birthday comes, he gets boot camp. No exceptions, male and female," Garrus answered. "They put us through basic and then run a series of proficiency tests. Turns out I had a natural gift with the sniper rifle and for electronics, so they specialized me in that and sent me off to the field."

"I'm aware," she said with a slight smirk as she leaned on the sleeping pod. "Every turian's been through basic training and been a soldier in the field."

"Believe it or not, that's actually a common misconception," Garrus pointed out as he leaned on another sleeping pod. "We don't all get sent to the frontlines. The turian military isn't just soldiers and naval crew, but also police, firemen, civil engineers, administrators, even sanitation workers."

"Huh," Ashley said in surprise. "I thought the turians leaned on the volus for economics."

"We do, but that's mostly because wheeling and dealing isn't something we're institutionally adept with. There's turian merchants, don't get me wrong, but on a whole that's something of a weak spot."

"So everyone serves a tour or two in the military, no matter where, and once done they get their official citizenship?"

"Well, they move up in where they are, but they're still citizens. Though how long you serve varies depending on where you serve. In the field like I was, only one or two tours in peacetime. Other services are far longer, though most of the tenure is based on the risk involved, so even complicated jobs might be lengthy in service time just due to the lack of risk."

"Sensible," Ashley said with a nod. "Keeps the bitterness towards the fobbits down."

"Fobbits?" Garrus asked in confusion.

"Portmanteau of forward operating base and hobbit," she supplied. "Slang term for the people who aren't on the front line getting shot at but are in the field; think Adams or Chakwas."

"What's a hobbit?" Garrus asked again, still confused.

_Oh, right,_ Ashley realized. "Fictional species; mostly human, just half as tall and hairy feet, from _Lord of the Rings_, a staple of literature from two hundred, three hundred years ago. Characterized as not liking to leave home or go on adventures."

"Ah," the turian sniper said with a nod. "And what about those who stay on Earth stamping out armor plates?"

"That's a cruder term," Ashley elaborated as she stifled a yawn, "REMF, or rear echelon mother-fucker. I personally prefer 'fobbit' since it's a little more refined and it doesn't have the unfortunate connotations."

"Turians use the term barefaced for politicians. Refers to not having any facepaint," the turian gestured to the blue marks on his face.

"What's with that anyways?" Ashley asked, "Some sort of colony thing?"

"Yeah, colony markings from before the Unification War; mine were from the Parthia Colony."

"So how was that colony anyways?" Ashley asked curiously. "I was born on Sirona, near Sol, but I got bounced around a lot by personnel division when my dad served so I never really stayed in one place."

"Couldn't tell you, I grew up on Palaven," Garrus explained. "Parthia was destroyed in the Unification War but was recolonized a century ago, my grandfather was part of the group that restarted it. It's still small and developing, but my mother wanted to raise us on Palaven rather than the frontier, and the rest is history."

Ashley paused, curling her lip to fight down an embarrassed blush for making the assumption. "Sorry."

"It's okay, common misconception just like the military," he paused, glancing back towards the mess briefly. "I know that some Imperials tend to incline towards the house colors of whoever's in control of their territory, but what about the Alliance?"

Ashley shrugged. "The most you see is someone wearing a UNAS or European Union flag printed on their shirt or something. The Empire and other aliens kinda pushed national issues we have to the side."

"I take it the Empire's a sore subject amongst the Alliance?"

"For various reasons," Ashley said as she shrugged, stifling another yawn. "Not really in the mood to talk about it right now, though. So, why'd you leave C-Sec anyways?"

"Justice," Garrus explained. "Same reason why I joined, I guess. I wanted to stop people from hurting innocents and make the galaxy a better place. But I couldn't do it within C-Sec; the rules and red tape kept letting dirty men walk away and then do more damage. So, here I am."

"The rules are there for a reason, you know," Ashley pointed out. "Heck, some human nations had the burden of proof on the accused rather than the accuser centuries ago. Take a guess how many innocents go down in that case."

"Maybe," the turian admitted thoughtfully, "but if it let's a mass murderer walk away, shouldn't the rules be bent?" Ashley stifled another yawn, fighting off how tired she was getting and Garrus glanced at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to keep you up; I got my shut eye a few hours ago."

"It's okay," Ashley said as she slid into the sleeping pod and tried to get comfortable in it. She was used to military bunking, but even she had to admit that she missed having a nice horizontal bed at home as she dozed off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

"Captain Anderson," Nihlus said as he walked into the captain's quarters. "Sorry to wake you, but I have something."

"It's okay," Anderson said as he was sitting on the bed, the normal crew uniform instead of his full officer's kit on, "It takes me a while to fall asleep anyways. What do you have?"

"The datamining VI found something, a lead to follow."

Anderson's eyes went wide and he nodded. "I'll get everyone to the briefing room."

Several minutes later, and once Anderson had his full dress blues on, the ground team was gathered in the briefing room. Nihlus looked over the team. Tali and Ashley were both groggy, having been asleep when the call came. Kaidan and Jenkins were more or less awake, though they looked ready to sleep as well. Wrex, Etel, and Garrus were all awake.

"Sorry to wake you all," Nihlus said, "But with the information from New Syracusae I was able to adjust the VI with more precise data and we have a lead to follow."

"Where to?" Etel asked.

"Therum, in the Knossos System of the Artemis Tau cluster. It's an Alliance mining colony," Anderson explained as he stepped forward. Nihlus nodded to him, ceding this part of the briefing to the ship's captain. "I'm not sure how aware of Therum's history all of you are, but those resources were a critical part of kickstarting the Alliance's presence in the galactic economy."

"So the geth are hitting our resources?" Ashley asked, scowling.

"Not yet," Anderson explained as he raised a hand. "And hopefully not at all. However, we must be prepared for that so I want you to make sure your arms and armor are fully repaired before we get there."

"Who'll be leading us this time?" Etel asked. "Williams?"

"I'll be taking the lead on this one," Nihlus explained, leaving Ashley to raise an eyebrow briefly before shrugging. "We'll be operating fairly far from the actual colony. Specifically, our target is Liara T'Soni."

"Who?" Garrus asked. Nihlus looked to Anderson, and the captain nodded.

"Matriarch Benezia's daughter, and an archaeologist specializing in protheans," Nihlus elaborated, linking his omni-tool to the briefing room's display to show a profile of their target. The official image for legal identification of the young asari was the main focus of it, while basic information such as her date of birth or driver's license was on the side of the screen.

"We taking her out or capturing her?" Ashley asked as she studied the profile. Jenkins seemed to be focusing on the picture rather than the briefing data.

"Neither," Nihlus said.

"I thought you said that she was Benezia's daughter, wouldn't she be working with her mother in this? At the very least I figure we should interrogate her for what she knows," Ashley noticed Wrex scowling at her. "Something wrong?"

"Just because she's family doesn't mean she's involved," the krogan rumbled darkly. Nihlus tilted his head towards the krogan. _Is this a piece of this battlemaster's history cropping up here?_ the turian Spectre wondered.

"Williams is correct, though," Etel chimed in, "we should at least talk to her about this. She may be innocent in all of it, but we should make sure."

Nihlus nodded. "This is not intended to be a smash and grab, a kidnapping, or even an assassination. From what we know she has had no contact with her mother so I am running on innocent until proven guilty. However, if she is actually in league with her mother or part of this we will use lethal force if necessary to prevent her from being a threat later on."

"But until then we're going to talk to her?" Kaidan said.

"Exactly, Lieutenant," Nihlus said as he adjusted the file. "According to the information the VI datamined, she's at an archeological dig site on the other side of the planet from Therum's capital. In the event the geth or their Collector allies show up, I want you all to be fully prepared for combat. Any questions?"

"What do we do if she's in league with Saren?" Ashley asked. "I'm assuming capture if possible, kill if not?"

Nihlus nodded. "In the event she is working for Saren, I would prefer to capture her for interrogation, but if it's a choice between letting her go and killing her, shoot to kill. But _only_ if she proves to be working for Saren, otherwise I want to be as unthreatening as possible for a heavily armed team of specialists led by a Spectre."

"Let's hope it doesn't go that far," Kaidan said. "If she's innocent in all this, maybe she can help us figure out what Benezia's angle is. We have Saren's, but do we have hers?"

"Hmmm," Wrex grumbled. "If she's not on board with Saren, she may even be willing to help us."

"I doubt it," Ashley said. "I mean, it'd be hard for me to go after my own mother; family's important, you know?" Etel and Tali both nodded in agreement.

"Regardless, it will take us the better part of a day to reach Therum," Anderson explained. "So I want the lot of you to get some sleep and be fully rested for the mission as soon as your equipment is fully repaired. Especially you, Jenkins."

"Yes sir," the marine said bashfully.

"Any other questions?" Nihlus asked.

"Um, yes," Tali said as she raised her hand weakly. "Is there anything we should be aware of heading into Alliance territory?"

"Not really," Ashley said, "you'll be with us on official business. As long as you don't go snooping around, you probably won't run into too much trouble."

"Right. Any environmental concerns?"

"High temperatures," Anderson elaborated as he brought up a file on Therum itself for the briefing screen. "I'd advise all of you to check the heat ablation on your armor; we should have some mods for that in the armory. Not necessary, but highly recommended."

"Also," Nihlus said, reaching for a set of data slates on the console, "I was going to hand these out later but since you're all here." He began passing them out as he walked around. "I've asked Servicemen Emerson to set up an order of special munitions for us. All the information you need is on these slates, so pick what you feel you'll need and we can figure out what we can get and what we can't." He handed the last data slate to Jenkins and walked back to the front of the briefing room.

"Is that all?" Anderson asked and no one else had any questions. "Very well then, dismissed. We should be at Therum in 1400 hours."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

Author's Notes:

_Yes, the crew is talking about Liara as if she is a potential enemy. At this stage of the story they don't know her at all, so she could be anywhere from an ally, to an innocent in the crossfire, to a deadly adversary._

_Also, UNAS = United North American Nations, one of the nations mentioned by Bioware as an Earth government containing the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Most of the information on it came from Kasumi's DLC in Mass Effect 2._

_Also, I would like to thank RheasHelm, The Anguished One, scottusa1, reality deviant, and Kudara for their reviews._

_The Codex Entry below is an explanation on the special munitions, primarily drawing from the actual descriptions in-game that explains how each ammunition works and condensing it into one overall explanation._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Weapons - Small Arms - Special Ammunition**

Standard mass accelerators used in small arms shaves a shard of metal from an ammunition block and then launches it out of the barrel via magnetic forces. However, early mass accelerators were unable to utilize special ammunitions without going back to the original style of bullets, bringing ammo back as a concern. It seemed to be a paradigm argument until asari and salarian scientists managed to develop new modifications for their weaponry, which quickly proliferated throughout the galaxy.

Modifying weapons to mimic special munitions used in the past is done through various methods. The simplest method available is to is the long standing option of simply using a different metal for the ammunition, tungsten being a popular choice while polonium has favor amongst assassins. Another option is a secondary system which attaches a head to the bullet while it is being flash forged in the rifle itself, with rounds designed to shred organic matter typically using this method. Incendiary and cryogenic use a mix of mass effect fields and a coating (either cooling lasers for cryogenics or thermite pastes for incendiaries) to cause an on-impact burst with the desired effect. The wide range of effects and methods makes this a useful tool to those who can afford it or have access to such weapons.

However, despite this great versatility these specialized munitions are often only issued to special forces operatives on a regular basis due to expense and maintenance requirements. The common soldier usually has to buy it with their own money unless their mission role calls for a specific type of ammunition, and even then typically have to spend much of their time maintaining it. Because of this vastly increased maintenance time, specialists in a squad such as engineers or support biotics tend to forgo such even in special forces units in order to focus their time on sharpening their other skills and the equipment they need to use.

Scaling up these special munitions is extremely rare due to the effects rarely matching up to the increased cost for large munitions or are too ineffective for combat usage. As a result, such special munitions are rarely used on vehicle mounted weapons and are never used on starships or even fighter craft.


	12. Priority: Therum

"Hmmm. Incendiary looks promising for the shotgun," Etel said as she looked down at the list Nihlus had given them. It had been eleven hours since the briefing and she was fully rested, having woken up a mere two hours ago.

"I'm more inclined towards Sledgehammer or Shredder rounds for it," Williams remarked from across the mess hall table.

"I'm hesitant on Shredder ammo for a shotgun; fire works better for close range assaults. Besides, against larger geth, like those Prime units Nihlus keeps running into, Shredder isn't going to be very useful against their heavy armor," Etel said as she flipped over to the specs on the data slate.

"Yeah, but you use your shotgun more regularly than I do. I'm most liable to use it when husks rush," the Alliance commander retorted with a shrug. "Geth seem to prefer to stay at rifle range baring those Destroyers, so if I'm up against a Prime I'm likely to be using my sniper rifle if anything. And well, geth still have fragile internals. Just not as squishy."

"Of course, Destroyers are probably going to have more robust internals than those trooper models, but I can see your point," Etel shrugged. "I still think incendiary works better for shotguns, especially ones like the Scimitar that puts a bunch of flechettes downrange quickly."

"Kinda surprised you're using a Scimitar shotgun," Williams remarked as she raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you tend to prefer that over your rifle, so not why not use something like the Katana that's more accurate at range?"

"In close quarters you need as many shots as you can in a few seconds. Those Katana shotguns just lack the rate of fire I need. Better than krogan shotguns like that Claymore Wrex uses, sure, but they usually need that power to fight other krogan."

"Personal preference I guess. I just prefer to have some power in my boomstick," Williams shrugged as she returned to looking through the information on the data slate. "Of course, I'm prioritizing the assault rifle. The costs are probably going to be a bit prohibitive on what we can upgrade."

"At least you'll have the time to do it," Etel remarked as she looked at the average time that it took to perform the daily maintenance. "I need to make sure my biotic amp is in shape, so I think I'm just going to mod the shotgun and that's it. So, what about your assault rifle, what're you figuring you'd use for that?"

"Disruptor ammo is tempting," Williams admitted, "but between the cost and the fact that it's not that great against biotic barriers means it's a little too specialized. If it was just geth, it'd be perfect, but with Collectors and their biotic barriers it's not the best option. "

"What about incendiary?" Etel suggested, "Yes, geth are synthetic and not as liable to react to being set on fire, but it would still burn their armor. Meanwhile, the Collectors _are_ organic."

"That's true, but I think I'll stick with Sledgehammer rounds for the rifle since they're pretty versatile and the extra force would probably help against husks," Williams entered her choice in on her data slate.

"As long as we all get at least one of our guns modded that should help," Etel responded as she looked at the price tags. "God, it's no wonder that so few soldiers use these. I mean, even without having to pay taxes since they're risking life and limb, an Imperial Army stipend would not be enough to handle this and keep the family comfortable back home."

"The only reason I don't get an ammo kit myself is because I'm not part of an active special forces squad," Williams commented as she started browsing the options again, "so when the ammo gets handed out I'm not very high on the list."

"But if you were you would probably be using advanced ammunition, since you're special forces?"

Williams nodded. "Yeah, N6, serious candidate for N7. If I was in a commando unit like Delta Squad or the Bridge Burners I'd probably have a choice of special ammo already. I could have done it with my own money, but I figured that I should save for retirement."

"That would be a good policy to keep in mind as a Spectre, albeit not for retirement," Nihlus cut in suddenly as he walked into the mess hall. Etel looked around and noticed they were the only ones there.

"How so?" Williams asked with a slight frown. "I thought Spectres were bankrolled by the Council. I mean, being their own top agents and all."

"Common misconception," Nihlus said as he walked to the table and sat down, lowering his voice. "In reality, Spectres are expected to be self sufficient in the event that they must operate beyond legal channels where a paper trail to the Council would be problematic."

Etel frowned. "Everyone knows that if a Spectre does it it is quite likely a Council operation, why would the Council be afraid of a paper trail?"

"A fair question," Nihlus said with a nod. "But, as a case study, imagine this Shepard: An Imperial Archduke is betraying the Empire, allowing its enemies to ferment dissent against the loyal Dukes and Barons owing fealty to him while the Archduke is quietly setting himself up to take the reins and seem to be more in line with the people."

"That is what the Imperial Administration is for," Etel cut in as she raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed, but for the scenario let's say that the Administration is either as hoodwinked as everyone else about the Archduke's true allegiance or it is something quietly supported. A conspiracy that means normal channels are unavailable. If the Archduke's cluster falls into chaos, it could leave the Empire vulnerable. The best course of action is to cut the beast's head off, no?"

Etel nodded at the metaphor. "So, the idea is that this is a situation where a Spectre would want to assassinate the Archduke to preserve the stability of the Empire and its frontier?" As she said it, she felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. Dealing with traitors was one thing, but outright murdering an Archduke, a man or woman responsible for an entire cluster like Argos Rho? Even if the Archduke was a traitor that screamed 'treason' to her.

"So it's like shooting a rabid dog," Williams cut in thoughtfully, "a crime against the Citadel to preserve its integrity. Sort of like if an Alliance system governor did the same thing and he's too good at politics to nail him in the courts. The idea is we could take them out as Spectres, sort of like that salarian bioweapons project centuries ago you told me about."

"Exactly," Nihlus said with a firm nod to both of them. "And as you can imagine, the Council would prefer to not have it seem like they authorized such actions. As such, while the Council will provide you with access to top of the line equipment to get started and unparalleled access to information, everything else you have to acquire yourself."

"We can ask the Council though, correct?" Etel asked as she frowned. "I mean, let's say we need to hit a pirate base but it is not something we can do alone, we need a small fleet group. We can ask them, right?"

"Absolutely," Nihlus said with a firm nod, "The Council does not just throw us to the varren once we get started, but we are expected to be independent operators who can supply ourselves for any dirty wet work we must do as part of our jobs. Otherwise, after putting a hole in that treasonous Archduke's head, imagine the diplomatic fallout if you failed to completely wipe the paper trail and it led to the Council."

Etel winced. "Even Emperor Baldwin would not tolerate that, and if the Administration already felt there was no treason due to their investigations…"

"Exactly," Nihlus said as he looked at her. She felt like it was almost something he felt sad about. "Spectres are given extremely broad authority, and to match that we're expected to be able to form connections to be able to supply ourselves as needed. However, in times of large scale war, the Council will provide additional funding to Spectres operating on the lines and is more hands on, but most of the time it prefers to be hands off."

"So if we become Spectres, we won't have much support from above most of the time?" Williams remarked as she glanced towards the captain's cabin.

"The Council will forward information and relevant leads as well as provide you with access, but that's the long and short of it. Of course it varies per Spectre and their chosen method of operation," Nihlus activated his omni-tool and showed an image of him and Saren, an image that looked to be from a few years ago as Nihlus had fewer scratches on the carapace protecting his face and Saren looked oddly different. The eyes lacked the soft glow she had seen when he was on Eden Prime.

"This was taken a few years ago when Saren helped save a Binary Helix facility from Blue Suns mercenaries," Nihlus explained. "It was also one of the first times he let me take the lead on a mission, though he was still mentoring me at the time. Saren invested quite heavily into Binary Helix to supply himself with advanced arms and armor and to have assets for providing provisions to armed groups or, very occasionally, refugee aid. Saren is, mind you, one of the more political Spectres. I prefered to keep most of my investments lower key and be the right turian in the right place at the right time rather than try to influence planetary politics."

It was clear to Etel that Nihlus was remembering this sadly as the turian Spectre shut his omni-tool off and the image faded. "Not all Spectres operate in the same manner. Some use very little in the way of additional assets, others focus on building large scale networks to supply themselves and their allies for missions. Some are political animals, some focus on being soldiers, some forgo battle entirely and stick to pure espionage and relay targets to fellow Spectres more inclined towards combat. There is no one singular judge of what makes a Spectre."

The two Spectre candidates paused, glancing at each other briefly. Etel's mind was wondering where she would be able to supply herself. Sure, she could always ask her family for help and she was fairly certain they would, but that would put them at risk as well if the paper trail was followed.

"So, that's why we only have a limited amount of budget for the special munitions then," Williams finally said.

"Correct," Nihlus answered. "And for the record, go ahead and find an ammunition that you would ideally want for each weapon you use. We can sit down and sort through who actually needs what and see what we have later."

Etel nodded. "I understand."

"Good," Nihlus said as he looked up as the lift from the engineering bay stopped. "Also, this was strictly between the three of us."

The two nodded as Nihlus walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Four Hours Later**

Ashley folded her arms as Joker was counting down the FTL disengaging for their arrival in the Knossos System. She was in the CIC along with Anderson, Shepard, and Nihlus as to see what they were up against, and had already put their armor on. _"FTL sequence finishing in five, four, three, two, one… disengaging!"_

The _Normandy_ dropped out of the FTL and Joker instantly activated their stealth systems. Anderson, now standing on the platform over the CIC's main display, had decided to play it safe this time and do passive scanning first. After a few minutes of letting the sensors work as they approached Therum, he glanced up.

"Joker?" Anderson asked.

"_Well, whaddya know, comms are jammed. Anyone noticing a pattern here?" _Joker answered, sounding annoyed. _"There's a geth signature on the surface. Looks like a frigate, based on data from New Syracusae. Picking lots of smaller readings on the surface too. It seems to be in the middle of unloading cargo, but I'm not detecting any other ships."_

"Get us in close, but keep the stealth system up. Who's on gunnery now?" Anderson asked.

"_That would be me, sir,"_ Jenkins voice came over the radio. _"Do you want me to get a firing solution?"_

"Yes. Get us a clear shot at them," Anderson responded, before turning to Pressly. "Pressly, check for a possible landing site or barring that, a location where we can drop the Mako."

"Aye aye, captain," Presley nodded and began to look over the data.

"We should take the Mako anyways," Nihlus chimed in. "T'Soni is liable to be in one of the prothean ruins given the information we have," Anderson simply nodded.

"_Firing solution acquired, sir. Joker is moving us to position,"_ Jenkins reported as the _Normandy_ began to approach an orbital position. _"Firing position acquired; ready to fire on your command."_

"_This will reveal us to the geth on the surface, though,"_ Joker warned._ "I mean, I can move us elsewhere, but they'll know that someone's hunting them."_

"I don't think it will matter much at this point," Anderson retorted before he grinned. "Jenkins, chap on the planet. Five rounds rapid."

"_Guns, guns, guns!"_ Jenkins warned. Seconds after, Ashley felt the slight tremor as the _Normandy's_ main cannon fired five times in quick succession. The group waited silently as the shots crossed the space between _Normandy_ and the planet, burning into the atmosphere and impacting on the surface. A few seconds later, Joker spoke up again.

"_Confirmed hit. Looks like we got them. The frigate itself is in pieces and the other contacts are scattering like cockroaches."_

"Good. Get us up close and drop the stealth. Raise the kinetic barriers to full power and maintain the firing line on those other signatures. Prepare to fire if needed," Anderson ordered. "Williams, get the team ready for the deployment."

"Aye aye, Captain!" she answered and saluted. Shepard and Nihlus both nodded to Anderson and the three hurried down to the engineering bay.

"_Nihlus,"_ Anderson said over the shipboard comms as they were taking the lift down to the engineering bay, _"I'm going to contact the capital and see if they need help, or maybe locate T'Soni."_

"Understood," Nihlus answered. "We'll split into two teams if needed."

"I think we got the geth before they really deployed," Ashley commented. "They were still unloading that frigate."

"Maybe, but who knows how many other ships were here before," Shepard pointed out. "I'd like to think we got them before they turned the place into a warzone, though."

"Hope for the best, plan on the worst," Nihlus said as the lift came to a halt and opened. "Served me well so far. If needed I'll have Lieutenant Alenko take a second team elsewhere, but until we know more be ready for anything. I want you two with me for this one," They stepped out of the lift where the rest of the ground team save Jenkins were already in their armor and had their gear ready.

"Jenkins will be down as soon as they rouse Serviceman Pakti and get him on station," Kaidan said as he walked up and gave a brief salute.

"Good," Nihlus said with a nod as Ashley and Shepard grabbed their weapons from their lockers.

Once they were all kitted and Jenkins had joined them, Anderson's voice came again. _"Nihlus, I just spoke with Governor Oleg Vodnik at Nova Yekaterinburg. He says that after a large cruiser took out their surface-to-orbital batteries, the geth hit an Eldfell-Ashland Energy industrial outpost on the other side of the planet and killed the miners and security there. They seem to be using it as a staging ground. They're also asking for us to refrain from further orbital strikes as the region is geologically unstable."_

"Understood," Nihlus answered. "No cities under attack?"

"_Negative on that,"_ Anderson elaborated,_ "It seems the geth are focused on a series of prothean ruins, while the cruiser withdrew due to battle damage. He also sent us some security footage from near those ruins that made no sense to him. The Collectors seem to be at the ruins itself."_

"What about the cruiser?" Nihlus asked. "We didn't pick it up earlier."

"_It wasn't a geth ship, the governor could say that much. He's been paying very close attention to recent events and studied the ship profiles extensively. He is also sending the footage of it that he has now. He suspects it's a Collector ship and from the way he described it, I'm in agreement."_

"Not good," Ashley said worriedly as she considered how frigates usually stacked up against cruisers, particularly lone frigates. "It could be back at any moment."

"We can't focus on that now," Nihlus said as he looked at her. "We need to focus on our objective. Any word on T'Soni, Captain?"

"_Governor Vodnik is having an aide perform a file search on T'Soni to see where she went, but that'll take some time."_

"Unnecessary, the ruins are where T'Soni is," Shepard said confidently, slamming her right fist into her left hand. "The Collectors seem to always go for the main objective while the geth cover them and run interference. T'Soni is Benezia's daughter, that's their target."

"Well, let's drop right on them then," Wrex grumbled. "Surprise them now."

"_Can't do that,"_ Anderson answered, _"the geth seem to have set up a series of mobile Triple-A batteries on the surface near there and the nearest landing zone is a few kilometers out. We can take the anti-air fire if we're further out, but dropping right into the ruins isn't an option by sheer space, even if the AA wasn't there."_

"Then land us as close as you can and we'll drive the rest of the way," Nihlus said, "And stay ready, if the area is geologically unstable we may need a fast pickup."

"_Understood. Also, the industrial outpost is directly on your route to the dig site and has a jammer. It seems to be the source of the communications jam now that their ship is gone."_

"Take that out, and the Alliance can spring reinforcements," Ashley pointed out with a slight smirk. "They might even be able to intercept that cruiser if we hit it fast enough."

"Then let's take it out before they try to use it to employ more direct forms of electronic warfare," Nihlus said firmly. "Everyone understands the mission?"

"Clearly," Ashley said as everyone else gave an affirmative.

"Good," Nihlus said with a nod. "Grab any extra gear you need and get on the Mako."

Ashley grabbed a modular rebreather for her helmet before boarding. Everyone else had gotten on board first, and Jenkins was giving her a quizzical look. "What? I'm the only one who's going to seal up?" she asked.

"Why do you need to?" Jenkins asked with a frown as he looked at her from the gunner's position, "I thought Therum's atmosphere was breathable."

"It is, but it's also hotter than the _Normandy_ after an extended stealth drive test," she retorted as she edged her way through the troop hold and sat in the driver's seat.

"You just want something resembling AC, don't you?" Kaidan commented with a half grin.

"That, and I'd rather not argue with brimstone given where we're landing," she retorted. "You can only walk up to the edge of a lava pool in fiction without convection being a pain."

"Well, I'm sealed anyways," Tali remarked with what Ashley swore would had came with a smug smirk.

"Williams has a fair point though," Shepard chimed in. "The Mako has some backups, right?"

"Yeah, they should be in the box behind the driver's seat," Ashley answered before pausing. "Though, I don't think we have any turian or krogan ones."

"The turian system is built into our helmets," Garrus commented, "we just deploy a visor and turn it on."

"The Hierarchy decided it was easier to do that instead of a modular version," Nihlus elaborated in response to the strange looks he received from the Alliance Marines as Joker warned they were approaching the drop zone.

"Right," Ashley said as she checked the Mako's systems; fully repaired since New Syracusae. Adams had been thorough in his repairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Therum Surface**

**4 Kilometers from Prothean Ruins**

Nihlus grunted as the Mako landed roughly on the surface. Joker had dropped them quickly and he could hear the impacts of long range anti-aircraft artillery firing after the frigate as it sped away into orbit.

"Are landings always this rough?" Tali asked as her hands were flying across her suit's face plate like she was checking for cracks.

"Sorry, we just dropped a hundred meters in free fall," Jenkins answered as he leaned down from the gunnery position. "Only so much you can do about gravity."

"Don't worry," Alenko added, "the eezo core will keep us upright. Unless we land nose first or don't have enough space to bleed our momentum, we shouldn't wreck ourselves."

"And if we don't have enough space to halt?" Vakarian asked worriedly.

"How many gun emplacements does turian heaven have?" Williams asked, earning a brief chuckle from the rest of the crew as Nihlus activated his omni-tool and synced with the tactical map display from the _Normandy_ as well as the Mako's own sensors.

_I need to talk to Shepard about building camaraderie,_ Nihlus thought as he observed the discussion while setting up the link._ Williams has been doing good job welding the team together, while Shepard seems to still carry that "Leaders lead, grunts follow" baggage. She'll need to drop that before it becomes an issue._

"_Commander Williams, Spectre Kryik,"_ Pressly's voice came in over the Mako's comms and cutting off the mirth, _"we'll provide as much tactical data as we can from up here, but the geth are jamming our scanners and may also adjust for our comms as well."_

"Understood, we'll make due," Nihlus answered as he nodded at the display, primarily geographic information and the location of the industrial outpost. "The industrial outpost is to the west," he said as he looked towards Williams in the driver's seat. "Head north around the lava lake and then come back down along it; by the looks of it we're on something resembling a road."

"Understood," Williams answered as the Mako began accelerating along the rocky surface of Therum. As they drove up along the lake of lava, Nihlus noticed there were fuel lines. So did Shepard as she was looking at the omni-tool's display.

"I'm guessing these fuel lines go to the outpost?" Shepard asked.

"Probably," Jenkins answered. "No idea until we actually see it, though."

"It's too quiet," Wrex rumbled as they circled around the lake in a lazy U-turn, "The geth know we're here. They should…"

An explosion from the outside cut the krogan battlemaster off. Nihlus looked down at the map and saw their welcoming committee: an Armature class geth unit along with an escort of infantry. "Williams, evasive maneuvers. Jenkins, clear away the escorts before tackling the Armature."

"_Got it!_" Williams and Jenkins both answered as Jenkins fired the main gun at a Destroyer, hitting it directly and scrapping the upper half of the body before he switched to the machine gun and mowed down the other troopers. The simpler geth infantry attempted to scatter and threw themselves to prone positions, but there was only so much that a smaller profile could do against vehicular firepower. Jenkins used short, quick bursts as he lined the machine gun up with each one, occasionally using the main gun as it reloaded.

"Geth infantry down!" Alenko called out when Jenkins finished the last one off as Williams ignited the Mako's jets to launch them clear of a pulse from the Armature and continued to drive erratically to avoid enemy fire.

"Damn it, missed!" Jenkins shouted as a shot at the Armature went wide and hit the mountainside. "Can you keep it steady LC?"

"Sorry," Williams answered as she turned the Mako to avoid the lake, "just aim for the center mass, forget about trying to disable the gun!"

Jenkins fired again as the main gun reloaded and followed it with the machine gun, eating away at the Armature's shields while the Mako proved to be too quick for it to fire back at with its pulse cannon. Several impacts off the Mako's kinetic barrier reminded them that Armatures had more than their pulse cannons to fight with.

"Taking machine gun fire from the Armature!" Alenko warned, "Shields are holding, though. Armature's trying to move as well."

"Too slow," Jenkins retorted as the machine gun was cooling down and he fired the main gun, hitting the walker directly in the center and shattering the last of its kinetic barrier protection. "Alright, it's shields are down!"

"Hurry and finish it off," Nihlus ordered. "Williams, get us moving past it!" _We're taking too long,_ Nihlus noted._ We could have moved on already, but Williams seems to still fear losing members of the team. She can't be afraid to take risks, or she might as well stay in the military rather than become a Spectre._

The Mako turned around and drove towards the Armature's side and it turned to follow, firing ahead of them. Williams ignited the booster jets again, launching them over the blue pulse as Jenkins fired another round at it, staggering the walker.

"One more shot," Jenkins muttered as they passed it and fired, hitting the Armature and causing the four legged walker to collapse, the singular optic fading as the head crashed into the ground.

"Good job," Nihlus said with a firm nod. "That's one less patrol to deal with. Williams, keep us moving to that industrial outpost."

"Jenkins, let the gun cool down while the autoloader gets to work with the replacement rounds," Alenko chimed in as he was working on a console up front.

"Yes sir," Jenkins answered as he released the controls.

Driving around another small lake of lava in the twisting valley, they quickly came to the outpost and Nihlus recognized it immediately as a refinery - likely a fuel refinery of some sorts given the pipes they had passed.

"Whoa! That's a lot of heavy turrets!" Williams shouted as the Mako came to a halt and began reversing as multiple mass accelerator rounds fired their way, narrowly missing. One turret hit the Mako and an alarm began beeping.

"Shields down!" Alenko warned as Jenkins fired at one of the turrets and Williams turned the Mako. "I don't think we can't take that strongpoint head on!"

"Maybe we can find another way in?" Shepard offered as the Mako rattled again from a near miss with a mass accelerator turret.

"Those turrets look freshly deployed," Tali commented, looking at her own omni-tool as Williams ducked the Mako behind a hill on the right side, "probably means that they had to rush it; there may be a weak spot in the perimeter."

"Sounds good to me!" Williams retorted. "Anyone have any preference for which way?"

"I think you ducked us into a side route," Jenkins said as another mass accelerator - a single one from the sole impact - fired into the hillside they had hidden behind as their kinetic barrier was slowly recharging.

"Take it!" Nihlus ordered. Williams answered by turning the Mako into the side passage and driving along. It was a short passage but it lead them left and then right into the refinery. A single turret blocked the approach into it directly._ Williams needs to seize the initiative and not wait for the team to agree, she needs to be willing to throw her weight around,_ Nihlus noted. _Still, she is a capable leader when given a command; otherwise she would be a grunt like Jenkins, not an officer. _

Jenkins fired the main gun at the lone turret and Williams launched the Mako into the air as soon as Jenkins finished firing. The main cannon hit the turret and blew off part of the armor. Nihlus turned to the Mako's occupants. "Drive us into the compound and park it, Williams! We'll clear the facility out on foot! Jenkins, stay on the gun!"

"Got it!" Williams answered as the Mako landed roughly, throwing them all around as Nihlus shut down his tactical display and reached for his shotgun while everyone else moved to grab their weapons. They drove forward and Jenkins finished the turret off as they drove past it.

Entering the refinery complex, there was over a dozen geth infantry waiting for them and more coming from the other buildings. Four geth drones were coming from the left side of their entrance, but a quick shot from the Mako's cannon set off a nearby fuel cell and blew the geth away. The resulting smoke and debris obscured the Mako as it came to a halt and the rear hatch opened. The team stormed out and rushed to what cover was available as dozens of rounds shot towards them from around the jammer.

"Heavy geth fire from the jammer!" Nihlus warned as he opened fire to suppress the geth surrounding the jammer in the center of the facility. The jammer was surrounded by metal fortifications and hex shaped kinetic barriers. Tali and Garrus took cover next to him, shotgun and sniper rifle in hand respectively, while Shepard used her biotics to throw a smaller fuel cell towards a pair of geth on their left flank. The fuel tank exploded and incinerated both geth.

"Destroyers at the far gate!" Williams warned as she and Kaidan exited the Mako as Jenkins continued to fire away. The Mako's kinetic barriers held up against the small arms fire impacting it but a rocket made a hit and rocked the IFV before Jenkins turned the gun towards the geth trooper that had fired it.

"I've got it!" Wrex shouted as he charged forward at the two larger, red painted geth storming out of the far gatehouse and directly towards them. _There's some initiative,_ Nihlus noted with a hint of amusement as the krogan collided with the first one, stopping it and knocking it backwards.

Nihlus fired at the other Destroyer that peeled to its right to avoid the collision. Activating his omni-tool, Nihlus overloaded its remaining kinetic barriers as Shepard and Williams both unloaded into it with their assault rifles. Wrex then grabbed the first Destroyer's arm and pointed its flamethrower at the other one as it tried to fire it, spraying the second unshielded Destroyer and setting the outside of the fuel tank on fire.

"Get down!" Tali warned after firing her shotgun. Nihlus ducked as a grenade exploded in a blue pulse above them and both their kinetic barriers dropped.

"Shit," Vakarian muttered as his sniper rifle was venting heat after he picked off a geth sniper at the jammer, "That wasn't a normal grenade!"

"Disruptor grenades?" Tali offered as she activated her omni-tool and manually restarted her suit's kinetic barrier system.

"Maybe," Nihlus said as he finished his own manual shield boost and leaned out of cover, firing a burst down at the geth hiding in the jammer and hitting one of them. "Jenkins, direct your fire at the jammer! Suppress the geth there!"

"_Roger!"_ Jenkins answered as the Mako's turret turned. Machine gun fire and a shot from its main gun scythed into the geth jammer, suppressing the infantry there and wrecking the hex barriers they had activated. An explosion to the side briefly concealed Wrex, but the krogan came out of it with only burn marks on his armor and helmet while the Destroyers were both down.

"Vakarian, Tali, Wrex, focus on the geth at the far gatehouse!" Nihlus ordered. "Shepard, Williams, on me! We're taking the one to the left!"

The team split, with the krogan battlemaster charging his target with a biotic barrier surrounding him while Vakarian began to lay down sniper fire at the windows. Taking effective sniper fire, the geth stayed down as Wrex closed the distance.

Nihlus leapt over the rocks he was using as cover and rushed towards his target gatehouse, Williams and Shepard behind him and firing their assault rifles to suppress the defenders. Nihlus activated his jet boots, launching forward and crashing into a geth trooper rising from behind a fence.

Knocking the grey armored synthetic down with the impact of his own body, Nihlus put a few rounds into its head, punching through the weakened kinetic barrier and wrecking its singular eye. Another geth trooper took a shot at him, but his recharged kinetic barrier caught it. Before it could do more damage the two Spectre candidates filled it with bullets from their rifles and caught up to him.

Nihlus gave them a quick gesture and they took a position at the door and he switched to his shotgun, nodding for them to do the same as Tali mentioned over the radio that they were driving the geth out of the far gatehouse.

"Go, go, go!" Nihlus ordered as the other two had their shotguns ready and the three rushed inside. Two more geth troopers tried to stop them but collapsed under the spread of shotgun pellets from the trio, white conductive fluids staining the metal flooring. Nihlus nodded to himself just before the gatehouse rocked from several explosions on the outside.

"The turrets outside are firing on us?!" Shepard shouted in surprise as she put her hand on the wall to avoid falling over.

"Guess they thought they could punch through and kill us," Williams offered as they ducked back into the refinery courtyard. The jammer was the only geth position still active as Wrex threw a white armored geth trooper out from the gatehouse he had stormed himself and Jenkins was firing on the jammer. It was damaged, but still functioning and the geth seemed to have set their fortifications up to protect them from shrapnel.

"Jenkins," Nihlus said as he activated his personal comms, "stand by to cease fire on the jammer."

"_Roger that,"_ Jenkins answered. A few geth were still in cover, but the Mako was keeping them suppressed and their hex barriers were long since ruined.

"On my mark, we storm it," Nihlus said to the two women next to him. The two nodded and he glanced over at the geth jammer. "Jenkins, cease fire," the Mako stopped firing. "Go!" Nihlus ordered, and the three sprang forward with shotguns in hand. Williams threw a grenade at the jammer, the disc shaped charge landing under the areas that the Mako could hit and detonating. While it did little damage to the jammer itself, the more precise explosion into the cramped quarters kept the geth fire down long enough for the three to leap into the fortifications.

Nihlus grabbed a geth drone that had the misfortune of having its back turned to him and tripped it before shooting it in the back. Meanwhile Williams and Shepard moved around the other side of the jammer to clear it. Nihlus continued to destroy the geth stragglers, shotgun blasts punctuating the geth fire and his kinetic barriers were depleted in the brawl. He soon found himself face to face with his two candidates and a small pile of wrecked synthetics throughout the jammer. Both women also had several new marks on their armor, and there were a few holes in Shepard's tabard. Williams was applying medi-gel to her wounds as Nihlus could make out a few small spots of red where she had been hit.

"Two managed to react in time with shotguns," Shepard explained, "Barriers and armor mostly caught it, though."

Nihlus nodded as others began calling the area clear. "Now, let's find out how to shut this thing off," Nihlus said as he looked at it. Despite the damage it had taken from the Mako, it was still operational.

"Tali, get up here," Shepard said as she keyed her headset. Nihlus tilted his head towards the knight. "She's the best we have for hacking."

Nihlus nodded as Williams leaned on one of the geth barricades as she checked the rest of her injuries. Tali made her way into the fortified jammer and walked around it before finding a power source.

"Oh that's brilliant," Tali said in an amused tone as the four were standing around the field generator.

"What?" Williams asked, looking up as she finished tending her wounds. "Huh, it looks like it wasn't finished."

"That's because they haven't even plugged in half the turrets," Tali explained before laughing.

"Hah!" Shepard smirked. "We finally caught them flat-footed for once.."

"Can you take it out?" Nihlus said sternly, cutting off Tali's laughter, though it did feel good to catch the geth off guard for once. _I guess it takes four tries,_ he decided.

"No problem," Tali said as she opened up the control panel and began fiddling with it. "Let's see… Perfect! I can even disable the turrets from here."

"I thought they weren't plugged in," Williams added as she tilted her head. "Don't they have their own power?"

"They do, but I can access their local neural net and interrupt the turrets," Tali elaborated as her omni-tool glowed briefly and she nodded. "Just send the command and…"

The refinery suddenly fell silent and the jammer stopped humming. Nihlus glanced around and nodded to himself. "Good work."

"Thank you," Tali said when she paused and looked down at her omni-tool. "Um, Spectre Kryik, you may want to see this."

"What is it?" Nihlus asked as Tali activated her omni-tool and held her hand up so they could see what it was displaying. On one side of the transmission was Matriarch Benezia, on the other a geth platform and an armored Collector.

"The Collector looks like the kind we faced at the beacon back on Eden Prime," Williams commented as she saw it. "The thing that took way too much firepower to bring down."

"And if there was doubt about Benezia being in league with Saren, it's gone now," Shepard added with a slow nod. Nihlus gestured for Tali to start the recording.

"_Have you found her yet?"_ Benezia began as Tali played the recording.

The Collector answered something unintelligible, sounding like an insectoid buzz with both mechanical and organic components contributing to the alien's voice.

"_A Praetorian would be able to bring down those energy fields. Use one."_

The geth answered next, the usual clicking noise of their language.

"_No, do not assemble it in front of Liara. Doing so would traumatize her beyond usefulness. If we are to use her expertise, she must be sane. Bring it through the tunnels and then destroy the barrier before bringing her to us."_

The Collector answered again.

"_The delay is acceptable if we get her to help us. Her expertise would be extremely useful in the hunt for the Conduit. As soon as the repairs are finished the cruiser will return..."_

"It degrades here," Tali commented. "I only managed to catch it because it was still in the local network before they could purge it. They seemed more concerned about schematics and troop numbers than this."

"So, T'Soni is not with Saren," Shepard commented as she put a hand to her helmet's faceplate as if she was rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Not yet anyways," Williams commented as she glanced towards the far gatehouse. "Though I don't like hearing about something called a Praetorian. Sounds bad, like they're getting out big guns."

"Those cannon husks, maybe?" Tali offered. "Praetorian might be their designation."

"No," Nihlus said as he shook his head. "Their firepower was not too far removed from a common missile launcher or small cannon. This sounds like something bigger, like it's a major investment of resources that they normally don't use. Like sending a tank to do a task you usually give a squad of infantry."

"Brilliant," Shepard muttered. "What about those geth turrets? They're down right?"

"They are, but we may want to have the Mako blast the turrets just in case. Stop the geth from reactivating them later and such."

"What about just disabling them manually?" Shepard asked. "Salvage them later."

"I'd be more comfortable destroying them," Williams answered as she folded her arms. "We can always study the wreckage and I'd rather not accidentally introduce geth into our own servers. Or get blown up by those guns on the way out if the geth reactivate them."

"We'll wire the jammer to blow," Nihlus said, "but if you can disable the turrets outside, do so. Have Vakarian on overwatch."

The quarian nodded and walked off as Nihlus unslung a set of demo charges from his belt and began wiring the jammer.

"_Commander,"_ Joker's voice cut in and Williams put her hand on her headset, _"The jamming is gone and we're picking up some really weird readings a few klicks away. Really strange, off the damn charts. It's at the dig site."_

"Copy," Williams said as she looked up. "Be advised, the enemy cruiser is going to be coming back so stay alert."

"_Roger that,"_ Joker answered and Nihlus nodded to her as she took her hand off her helmet.

"_Ground team, this is Anderson."_

"Go ahead," Nihlus answered.

"_Adams did some preliminary analysis with the information Governor Vodnik provided; are you _sure_ that it's a cruiser?"_ Anderson asked in disbelief.

"Matriarch Benezia identified it as a cruiser in an intercepted transmission," Shepard answered as she keyed her helmet comms.

"_If so… then it's far too large for the firepower it has,"_ Anderson finally said. _"The thing is at estimated at being almost twice as big as one of our dreadnaughts, but from what we can tell it's not at that level of firepower with its guns. More than enough to destroy the local surface-to-orbital batteries, certainly, but not enough to classify it as a dreadnaught."_

"That explains why they need the geth, then," Williams commented. "If their cruisers are that inefficient…"

Nihlus shook his head. "We don't know enough to make that call," he chided, though it was a sensible conclusion. "Either way, we should regroup with the others and move on."

"_Be wary,"_ Anderson warned, _"If that ship shows up we may have to bug out."_

"Understood," the Spectre answered as he re-keyed his comms, "Wrex, can you get the gate forward open?"

"_Sure thing,"_ the krogan answered gruffly.

Two minutes later, they were all back in the Mako and driving onwards. Tali had disabled the geth turrets without incident and Wrex easily opened the gates, and the injuries they had taken (mainly Garrus, who took several rounds that punched into his shoulder) had already been tended to. Nihlus brought the others up to speed, warning them to be ready for anything and that T'Soni was to be considered friendly unless told otherwise.

"So, T'Soni is innocent in all this?" Alenko asked as he restocked his medical kit from the Mako's on board kit.

"For now," Williams answered as she turned the Mako to keep them out of the lava as they approached what looked like an isthmus splitting two rivers of lava.

"_Ground team, geth dropship inbound on your position!"_ Pressly warned.

"I see it! And a geth patrol!" Jenkins warned. "Including an Armature!"

"Take it out!" Nihlus ordered.

"Wait, that dropship's landing!" Alenko warned. "It's not dropping more geth off, it's landing and… opening the cargo bay?"

"They're pulling out!" Williams said. "Jenkins, fire at 'em! Take a few out!"

Jenkins had fired before she had finished giving the command, hitting the Armature and knocking a geth infantry drone apart from the shockwave as the dropship turned its gun towards them. Williams moved the Mako clear before it was hit and the kinetic barrier easily took the shrapnel from the miss as the dropship lifted off.

"Why are they retreating?" Shepard asked uneasily. "I don't like this."

"Me neither," Nihlus answered as he tapped his omni-tool. "_Normandy_, come in. What's the status on those geth dropships?"

"_It seems that they're trying to consolidate,"_ Pressly answered. _"We see one of them unloading an anti-air battery that was located three kilometers to the west of the dig site at the dig site itself."_

"_Same with the patrols,"_ Joker added. _"Scanners are picking up two dropships going for the distant patrols. I think that whatever they want, it's still at the dig site. We can try to buzz them if you want."_

"Let Captain Anderson decide that, but if you can blow those dropships up we'd appreciate it," Nihlus answered. "Williams, get us to the dig site ASAP."

Williams simply answered by revving the engine and driving the Mako forward along the path at full speed, slowing down only for turns.

"So Tali," Alenko said as they approached a tunnel, looking back from his seat, "Are there any quarian noble houses? I mean, there's been quarians in the Empire for centuries, right?"

"No, there aren't any," Tali answered with a shrug. "The closest to that there's been is a few romantic relationships between a quarian and a member of a noble house, but that's by individuals, not whole families."

"And almost all of those relationships include individuals like myself," Shepard added as they entered the tunnel, "Fourth children or others who aren't likely to rule a fief."

"No offense intended, but it sounds like quarians are second class to me," Jenkins commented.

"None taken," Tali answered. "Though if any noble house is going to end up being non-human, quarians will probably be the first ones there."

"Still," Williams remarked as she guided the Mako down the tunnel, "it's something to keep in mind. It's been three hundred years and no quarian has risen to a position of leadership? That seems suspicious to me."

"Earning a noble title is extremely difficult," Shepard explained as she leaned forward and looked towards the marines. "It's happened before, but it's very rare. Only the most extraordinary can do it. Most of the time people earn an aristocratic title for doing well, but to go above and beyond that? Far enough that it results in a new noble house being formed?" Shepard shook her head. "In the last hundred years I could count how many have done it with one hand."

"Wait, noble titles can be earned?" Jenkins asked in surprise before firing the main gun. "Geth patrol, two troopers, both scrap now."

"Good initiative," Nihlus complimented before turning back to his omni-tool, replaying the intercepted transmission from the refinery and only partially paying attention to the chatter in the Mako and the occasional two or three man geth patrol they blew away on the way to the dig site.

"So if noble titles can be earned, why hasn't a quarian earned it yet?" Jenkins asked. "I mean, you'd think there'd be a quarian that good by now."

"There've been a number of quarian admirals in the Imperial Navy," Tali elaborated, "and plenty have earned aristocratic titles, the admirals included since most high ranking officers prove themselves worthy of that."

"That's where most non-Chivalric Order knights come from," Shepard added. "That, and enlisted troops who go above and beyond the call of duty."

"That explains your assumptions with the Captain," Alenko remarked as they entered another tunnel.

"One kilometer out," Williams warned as they moved through the tunnel.

"Then it's time to stow the chatter and split into squads," Nihlus said as he looked at the latest display of the dig site. "The geth have set up their anti-air batteries on the hills around the dig site. However, we won't be able to bring the Mako in, it's too dense."

"What's the plan then?" Vakarian asked as he leaned in and Nihlus switched his omni-tool to display a full map of the dig site. There were two main strongpoint areas, loaded with rocks and other cover. First was an area below the dig site itself, but in their only way up, then a few small buildings at the dig site itself. The anti-aircraft artillery was on the hills surrounding the first area with one lone battery at the dig site itself.

"Vakarian, I want you, Alenko, Wrex, and Jenkins to focus on reaching each AA battery. Plant a demolition charge on each one or otherwise destroy it. Meanwhile, Tali, Shepard, Williams, and myself will advance to the main dig site and deal with the geth there."

"That geth strongpoint on the way up is a killzone," Shepard commented. "We'll have to punch through that one together before we peel off."

_Good. She noticed the possible trap, _Nihlus thought to himself. "Agreed," Nihlus said aloud and nodded, "but we should split into the separate squads now. We'll hit the first part together, but the rest we have to split up for. Vakarian, Jenkins, once you two are finished I want you two using your sniper rifles to provide overwatch for us if we cannot take the dig site itself and then move to support."

"Understood," Vakarian answered as he checked his sniper rifle again as they came out of a tunnel. Jenkins fired the main gun at a three man geth patrol that was waiting for them, before they could do more than make the kinetic barriers flicker. Half a minute later Williams had brought the Mako right up to the edge of a rock formation with one thin passage through and parked the Mako, opening the door for them to leave the IFV.

"Not sure I feel comfortable just leaving it here," Williams commented as she used her omni-tool to seal the Mako.

"Neither am I," Nihlus admitted, "but we need everyone on that strongpoint."

She nodded as she entered another command on her omni-tool. "Okay then, I locked it. It needs an Alliance code to open, so make sure me, the Lieutenant, or Jenkins are with whoever unlocks it."

"What about a code for all of us?" Wrex asked. "Not even a long term one, just a temporary one."

"We'd need to recalibrate the system," Alenko explained as he put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Probably should have done that earlier."

"To be fair we didn't expect to need to leave it behind," Tali chimed in as she checked her shotgun's heat sink.

"We don't have time," Nihlus cut in as he realized this would turn into an extended argument and looked at Williams. "Worse case worse I drag your corpse back here and use your omni-tool. Let's move."

"We could just cut her arm off after she dies," Wrex said with a shrug. "Would be easier to carry."

"Thanks, that's very reassuring," Williams muttered as she checked her assault rifle and the other two Alliance marines looked at each other uneasily even with their fully sealed helmets.

"Move out," Nihlus ordered. "Jenkins, Wrex, take point."

The two moved ahead of the rest of the group, creeping through the rock formation. As they were halfway through the first set of rocks, fire came from the other end. Jenkins ducked behind a rock while Wrex simply started firing his assault rifle. Garrus picked off one of the two geth recon drones watching the perimeter while Tali disabled the other one by overloading its shields and Wrex's assault rifle fire destroyed it.

"Choke point ahead," Jenkins warned as they arrived a narrow passage through the hills to the first strongpoint. The team waited behind the hillside between them and the strongpoint, out of sight of the geth below.

Nihlus nodded. "Vakarian, Jenkins, take up sniper positions and keep any snipers off of us. Williams, Shepard, come in behind us while Alenko and Tali stay behind you two."

"Understood," Shepard answered with a nod and the squad rearranged themselves. Jenkins and Vakarian took up positions behind rocks that jutted out from the passage and began firing their sniper rifles down the slope to suppress the geth.

"Sniper on a watchtower opposite of the strongpoint," Vakarian warned before he leaned out of cover and fired.

"You focus on that, Vakarian," Nihlus ordered as he nodded to Wrex. "Let's go."

The two stormed down the dirt ramp into the strongpoint, firing their assault rifles to suppress the geth infantry that was coming down from the other end on the small valley, from the path to the dig site itself. A sniper round caught Wrex's shoulder, but the krogan ignored it as it only broke his kinetic barrier and simply replaced it with a biotic barrier before charging a Destroyer trying to storm them with a flamethrower.

Nihlus leaned out of cover with his omni-tool and activated it. "Destroyer's shields down!" he called out as the krogan reached it and knocked it onto its backside. Several loud shots rang out into the Destroyer's head as Nihlus moved forward, taking out a geth trooper that had leaned out of cover to try and take a shot at him.

Williams and Shepard were close behind and took up the position that Nihlus had left behind. "Suppress the geth on the ridge!" he ordered as he switched to his shotgun. Wrex had done the same and was making a mess on their right flank, pinning down the geth there. Alenko and Tali were moving down the hill as the two candidates were keeping the geth suppressed and in cover. Vakarian was picking off the snipers, both the one he had spotted in the tower and the one that took a shot at Wrex from the upper ridge.

Which left him to handle the geth ahead with Jenkins' sniper support. _"Shock Trooper down!"_ Jenkins called out over the radio as he hit his mark, leaving a large hole where the geth's lone eye had been.

"Don't radio every kill, Corporal!" Nihlus chided as he rose from cover and knocked a geth trooper out of the fight with a direct hit to the chest before hitting another trooper moving in tandem with the first. He hit the second with an omni-tool launched disc, shocking the platform and causing it to collapse as it was overloaded. He ducked down in time to avoid a sniper round before Vakarian eliminated the sniper on the ridge, the dark brown colored platform falling down the ride and landing head first.

"_Snipers down; Alenko, Tali, move forward!"_ Garrus called as Shepard and Ashley were clearing the ridge themselves as Wrex cleared his side of the geth.

"Jenkins, I'm moving forward," Nihlus radioed as he glanced over and saw the geth moving around in their side of the rocks, eerily reminding him of a flight of birds moving together in the air and adjusting course together. "Watch my back while I get to work."

"_Yes sir!"_ Jenkins answered. Nihlus leapt over the rock and launched into the area the geth were firing from, landing next to a Shock Trooper. The geth quickly deployed a hex barrier to block him, but Nihlus simply blasted it away with his shotgun. His kinetic barrier dropped dangerously low as the white armored geth shot him, but the second burst from his shotgun knocked the synthetic into a boulder before it could do any more. A third burst shot through the shieldless geth's torso and it collapsed.

Nihlus whirled around as a Destroyer and another Shock Trooper leapt in together, but the Destroyer suddenly spasmed with an electric currents running around its body. Meanwhile the Shock Trooper turned on the its larger, red armored comrade, setting off the fuel cell on the Destroyer's back with a shotgun blast and destroying both of them. _Impressive,_ Nihlus noted as he glanced back and saw Alenko and Tali in cover next to Williams and Shepard, turning their omni-tools against the geth on the ridge above now.

Crouching down as he approached another standard geth trooper, he waited for his barrier to finish recharging before reaching over the rock the trooper was hiding behind as it rose to fire. Grappling it by the arm, the Spectre yanked the geth over to his side of the rock before stabbing it in the chest with his omni-blade, wrecking the geth's core components and leaving a gaping hole in its grey armor. Glancing over, he saw an opening and vaulted over, bringing his shotgun up as the two other geth who were slightly further ahead responded to his attack and fired.

Nihlus' kinetic barrier dropped again as he took out the geth on the right with his shotgun and several rounds went into his leg, causing him to land on his chest. He glanced up in time to see the geth trooper that had shot him switching thermal clips and seized the opportunity to strike. Activating his omni-tool, a small disc shot out and hit the geth's rifle, overloading its core components and causing it to spray heat and liquefied metal into the geth's face and interrupting the reload. Seizing the opportunity he grabbed his pistol with his other hand and shot the geth, taking it down before propping himself up against the rock base as his armor began applying combat medi-gel and stimulants to overcome the leg injury.

"The geth are falling back!" Shepard shouted. Nihlus looked up and saw that the few geth left on the ridge had moved back up the hill towards the anti-aircraft batteries surrounding the area. And just like at New Syracusae, they moved back together and traded off the task of laying down covering fire near flawlessly and adapted quickly to additional casualties.

Nihlus nodded as the geth left effective range. "Alright; time to split up. Alenko, take your team and sweep the AA. Shepard, Williams, Tali, you're with me."

The two teams moved up along the ridge, with Alenko's team breaking off towards the tower and making their way up the hill while Nihlus lead his squad up the main passage. They spread out, Williams and Tali on the left side of the path with Nihlus and Shepard were on the right, weapons trained and advancing slowly.

As they approached the dig site itself, Nihlus felt uncomfortable under his carapace as he signaled for the team to close ranks. Something was very wrong here. The AA battery was on the roof of the building to the left which seemed to be the main building for the dig site, the entrance to the ruins was to their far right. The two sites were connected by a bridge above them, but there was also ground level access. A small lava lake was far ahead, and there were crates scattered around, large enough for them to use as cover.

And scattered around the dig site was almost thirty of the strange devices the geth used for creating husks, all of which had bloodstains.

"I think we know what happened to the workers," Williams muttered.

"Oh God, is that how they make those things?" Tali asked in shock.

"Yes, they impale people's bodies and mutilate them with posthumous cybernetics," Shepard elaborated bitterly. "But where are the husks?"

"Benezia mentioned something about assembling something," Nihlus said as his mind wandered back to New Syracusae. "Those cannon husks were," he paused to consider how to phrase it, "assembled, for lack of a better term. But I only saw the very end of the process."

Suddenly, a shape leapt from the bottom of the bridge above to the wall and stayed there, a singular blue eye looked at them from the wall. It was synthetic - a geth, but unlike the normal geth which had armor on their torsos, this geth model was almost entirely made of the synthesised fleshy material used for their limbs. The only solid metal was that which made up their singular optic.

"What the hell is that?!" Williams asked as the strange geth hopped to the ground ahead of them before hopping back up to the bottom of the bridge. Several more came out as well. Realizing they were about to come under fire, they dove into cover as a large ship appeared overhead. Nihlus and Tali hid behind a large crate on their left, while Williams and Shepard were behind the one to the right.

"Dropship overhead!" Tali shouted as Nihlus looked up… and down dropped an Armature and several more geth troopers before the ship sped off.

"Stay down!" Nihlus ordered as the geth infantry opened fire in unison and the strange hopping geth leapt around, firing some gun mounted beneath their eye. The two groups worked together, like skirmishers and firing lines from millenium old historical armies. "That Armature will rip us apart if we're in the open!"

Williams leaned out of cover and fired a quick burst from her assault rifle, hitting one of the geth troopers and dropping its shields before Tali finished it off with her shotgun. Shepard meanwhile tried to catch one of the new geth with her biotics but missed, not triggering the field quickly enough before it hopped away. Nihlus leaned out of cover and tried to overload one of the hopping geth's shields. He hit it, but the geth leapt clear before he could capitalize on the downed shields and vaulted to the top of the bridge overhead.

"Armature firing!" Shepard warned and everyone ducked behind the heavy crates they were using as cover, Tali breaking off an attempted tech attack to avoid the large blue pulse that impacted between the crates they used as cover. Nihlus grunted as the force of the explosion almost knocked him over and he glanced to the side, noting that the building to the left had ideal cover…

"Tali, see that building to the left?" Nihlus ordered as Tali pulled herself back to her feet from the Armature's attack. The quarian nodded as the other team radioed in that they had taken out an AA battery. Nihlus put that to the side.

"Okay, cover me!" Tali said as she looked towards her destination.

Nihlus switched to his assault rifle and leaned out to the right, firing at the geth across the dig site as Tali sprinted over. With the geth focused on him and his two candidates, Tali easily reached the other side and took up a position as the Armature fired again, overshooting and the blue pulse impacted on the hillside behind them.

"Got one!" Shepard shouted as she caught one of the hopping geth with biotics and slammed it into the ground. The strange geth model hit the rocky ground and stayed in place, allowing Williams to shoot it and it powered down.

"Focus on the new geth then!" Nihlus ordered as he shifted to the left side of the crate and picked off one of the geth troopers as it moved forward to closer cover. "Tali, focus on the troopers - we need to clear the area before we tackle the Armature!"

The second team radioed in another AA battery destroyed as they continued to clear away the geth infantry, the synthetics losing cohesion as more and more of their infantry were destroyed. The Armature continued to fire, but whatever the crates they had found for cover were made out of, it was sturdy enough to protect them. Nihlus still did not want to stay pinned down any longer than he had to, though, especially against a war machine like an Armature.

Williams sprinted across the gap between the two crates as Shepard covered her with her assault rifle. _Good, they're covering each other,_ Nihlus noted as he looked at the Alliance marine as her kinetic barrier briefly flashed as it fully recharged.

"Infantry are down and the last hopper is out," she explained as she switched to her sniper rifle. "Any ideas on the Armature?"

"Hang on," Tali said as she glanced up from where she was taking cover. "Do you think you could suppress the Armature and keep it away from me?"

"What do you have in mind?" Nihlus asked as he turned towards the quarian.

"See that AA battery on the far side of the catwalk?" Tali asked. Nihlus leaned out of cover and saw it before the Armature's machine gun forced him back into cover and took out most of his barrier's shields.

"That's risky," Nihlus noted as he weighed the option. "Can you do it?"

"Yes," she answered.

"We can probably cover her," Williams chimed in, leaning out of cover and hitting the Armature with the sniper rifle to no effect save weakening the shields. "But not for very long."

"Okay then. Take out that Armature's shields!" Nihlus ordered as he leaned out and activated his omni-tool, shocking the shields with an overload. The shields held as Shepard began to spray small bursts at it with her assault rifle, but the Armature backed away slightly before switching to its machine gun as the primary weapon.

"Cover me, I'm crossing!" Nihlus said. Williams and Shepard both opened fire together and drew the walker's fire away as Nihlus ran towards where Tali was taking cover and nodded to her, seeing how she was going to climb up. "Okay, stick to the inside and start climbing," he said. "You should be obscured from view until you reach the top."

"Okay," Tali answered, shaking slightly before exhaling and holstering her shotgun before she took a step back and rushed forward, leaping onto the support beams and grabbing the triangularly placed supports in the beam itself.

"Keep up the fire and wear that thing down!" Nihlus ordered.

The three began to trade off who was firing at once, keeping the Armature's fire spread out as the machine gun had to move around to the three different targets. It occasionally tried to fire its main gun, but they simply took cover when it did and moved away from the blast.

Tali lost her grip after one pulse nearly missed Nihlus but she managed to catch another bar before she fell too far and continued climbing. _This is insane,_ Nihlus thought as he leaned out of cover to try and overload the Armature's shields again now that they were weaker. The omni-tool based attack hit and he ducked back into cover as the machine gun was turned towards him.

"It's huddling up!" Williams shouted.

"Just like that one at New Syracusae!" Shepard added as they continued to fire at the walker.

"Tali, hurry!" Nihlus warned as she reached the top. If the Armature got back up before she could finish what she planned on doing…

The next few moments passed tensely as Garrus radioed in that they were on their way to the dig site, but Nihlus was focused on keeping the Armature down as he heard Tali's footsteps as she sprinted across the catwalk above.

"It's getting back up!" Shepard warned.

"Try to keep its shields down!" Williams added as she dropped her overheating sniper rifle and started firing a long burst from her assault rifle. The geth walker stood back to its full height before it a loud whir from above caught Nihlus' attention. He looked up and saw the barrels of the anti-aircraft emplacement mounted above aiming at the Armature before firing rapidly. The impacts blinded Nihlus briefly as he and the others ducked back into cover, but not before he saw the Armature looking up.

When the anti-aircraft fire stopped, Nihlus looked up and saw nothing but burning wreckage and scorched terrain.

"TALI!" Shepard shouted as she looked up at the catwalk, "Are you alright?! Talk to me Tali!"

Nihlus had a comment in the back of his mind as he checked his omni-tool and the suit readouts. Tali's shields were down and the lifesigns were erratic.

"_I'm okay!"_ she finally answered over their comm channel, _"Just lost my shields when it tried to fire at me and I think I've got shrapnel in my suit, but nothing that actually punctured. The AA battery's still intact and can be manually operated."_

"How?" Williams asked in confusion, "I thought the geth were in their vehicles and gear themselves. Ya'know, machines and all."

"_They must have uploaded themselves out of it; all that's left are protocols. They tried to scrub it, but I was able to maintain control and can direct it with my omni-tool."_

"Well done," Nihlus said with a firm nod. She was indeed as good as Shepard had described. "Pass the controls to Vakarian once he and his team get here."

"_Got it, I'll see if I can find a lift or something."_

"That was crazy," Williams said to Shepard as they stood and looked around. "But brave; if that Armature got up just a few seconds earlier..."

Shepard simply nodded in response as the other team joined them.

"Any injuries?" Nihlus asked.

"Just Wrex taking a lot of rounds and healing them himself," Alenko commented. "He pretty much drew all their fire."

The krogan smirked faintly. "The benefits of a strong body," Wrex commented as he idly wiped some of the white fluid the geth used off of his shoulder.

"Okay then. Vakarian, I want you on that catwalk - Tali hacked one of the AA guns and reduced it to manual control, I want you up there manning it in case any dropships try to come in," Nihlus explained. "The rest of you stay out here and man the fort, make sure our exit is clear. I'll take my team down into the tunnels and find T'Soni."

Everyone nodded or otherwise acknowledged the orders and they spread out. Alenko checked both Williams and Shepard as they had taken a few grazing hits from the Armature's machine gun, while Tali found a lift in the dig site's building and used that to get down, talking to Vakarian briefly and gave him the controls for the AA gun. Soon he was standing in front of the tunnel entrance with Williams, Shepard, and Tali on his flank.

"Alright, let's move," Nihlus said and gesture the team to follow them. They didn't get far into the tunnels when Williams gestured for them to stop.

"Movement, fifty meters ahead," she whispered. Nihlus nodded and gestured the team to hug the walls, to take what little cover they could. They waited in silence, until a human appeared from the shadows. Nihlus recognized Alliance markings on the human's armor immediately. He also lacked the breath mask that Williams had on.

"You're not geth?" the marine asked loudly, lowering his weapon before bending over and panting. _Sloppy, we could be hostiles,_ Nihlus thought. However, he did notice that Shepard and Williams, while no longer aiming at the marine, still had their weapons held up.

"No," Nihlus answered. "Spectre Kryik. We are here for doctor T'Soni."

"The asari? She's somewhere down there, but the tunnels are full of bugs! I would not go there," the marine answered in a panicked voice as his eyes darted around wildly, clearly having lost what grip he had a long time ago.

"What's your name and unit?" Williams asked.

"Johnson, Private First Class, 411st Frontier Division," the marine answered, snapping to attention, though his eyes continued to dart around fearfully. "Our job was to look after that asari archeologist while she tried to figure this place out, but then the geth and bugs hit us."

"Collectors, I assume?" Shepard noted. When the marine gave her a funny look she elaborated. "The bugs."

"The big ones, yeah," the marine answered, before looking back at the tunnel and uneasily taking a few steps towards the exit.

"Big ones?" Nihlus asked for a confirmation. The Collectors they had encountered so far were almost all relatively similar in size.

"Yeah, walked on two legs, got guns shooting this weird white shit. Then there were the smaller bugs, the swarms... I barely managed to hide from them in the barrier curtains and get he- You hear that?" the marine suddenly said, turning around and pointing his gun down the tunnel, eyes wide in fear.

The group waited for a moment. Then Nihlus heard it too. The sound reminded him of the buzzers back on Palaven. From the sound of it, they were either close or there were a lot of them. As if on cue, a swarm of what looked like black dots burst from the depths, surging towards them. The marine screamed and opened fire, inflicting no damage to them.

"FALL BACK!" Nihlus shouted and the group started to run. Williams laid down suppressing fire with her rifle while Tali launched a disc from her omni-tool to cover them. But after realizing the rifle fire and Tali's tech attack did not even faze the bugs, they stopped firing and just sprinted out of there.

As they approached the exit, Alenko was standing at the top looking down at them. "What's going on?!" he asked frantically as Shepard threw a biotic attack at the swarm, but Nihlus didn't see if it had any effect. However, Alenko seemed to notice something, tilting his head slightly.

"_Everyone outside_!" Alenko shouted as Tali was the first out of the tunnel. Nihlus turned around next to the Alliance biotic just in time to see Johnson being caught up by the swarm. It took a moment, but the marine was paralyzed in place, like he was in some sort of stasis field. The bugs kept coming up towards them, however.

"If you've got an idea do it now!" Nihlus urged as Shepard, who was the last one out, sprinted past him. Alenko seemed to be concentrating. He then extended his hands and a biotic barrier covered the entrance. A few bugs managed to escape the barrier after it rose and rushed towards Alenko, but dropped dead before they could reach him. In Therum's open air their bodies burst into tiny flames.

"Good thinking," Nihlus nodded at Alenko, who didn't bother to say anything as he maintained the field and backed away from the tunnel slowly. Nihlus turned to see Williams finishing an explanation of what just happened as she caught her breath.

"So, we've got bugs that can paralyze us in the tunnels. They also don't care about weapons fire. Just lovely," Jenkins commented bitterly.

"At least they don't like the heat," Shepard noted, "and it seems like biotics disturb them."

"Well, this puts a dent on our plan," Williams said as she turned. "We're still heading down there, right?"

"Of course," Nihlus said as Alenko joined them.

"You need a way past those bugs," Alenko commented. "A biotic field seems to be able to keep them back, though. Maybe Shepard could put one up around you?"

"That could work, but I'm not sure for how long," Shepard remarked as she put a hand on her chin; or rather the part of her helmet covering it. "T'Soni may be deep in the tunnels and if the field fails for any reason…" she trailed off and left the rest unsaid.

"Then we change the team composition," Nihlus said as he glanced around the group and nodded to himself. "Williams, Shepard, Alenko, you're with me. We'll head down and find T'Soni. Shepard and Alenko trade off on maintaining the barrier. No biotic usage otherwise, I want you two as fully capable as possible for barrier duty."

"Shouldn't Wrex go with you instead of me?" Williams commented. "I mean, he's a biotic and that seems to be our only defense, so you should take a full biotic squad."

Nihlus looked at her briefly, trying to gauge whether she was trying to avoid the depths or not. _No, just worried about the team being trapped down there and helpless,_ he decided. "A fair point, but we should leave one biotic up here. If there are bugs that resist the heat, Wrex can protect the group up here or lead the second team down if required."

Williams nodded. "Jenkins, once we start heading down grab Johnson and get him to the Mako. He's been paralyzed, so you'll have to drag him."

"Yes ma'am," Jenkins said.

"Otherwise, I want you four to maintain a perimeter," Nihlus continued, though he did approve of Williams' initiative with that order. "Call the _Normandy_ and load both the Mako and Johnson onboard then have them stand by to pick us up. We may need a fast extraction."

Jenkins nodded. "Yes sir, we'll keep the entrance clear."

"Good," Nihlus said as he turned. "Okay then. Alenko, Shepard, I want both of you to make a biotic barrier bubble out here before we head down. Let's make sure you two can do it first."

The two biotics nodded and focused, blue biotic energy shimmering across their biotics before the field expanded from each of them in turn as they tried it. Nihlus nodded as they held the fields for a moment before letting them dissipate.

"As long as you stay inside you should be fine," Alenko said. "But we won't be able to fight while doing it, too much biotic energy, though we should be able to allow you to fire out of it. Also, if the barrier has to take too much fire..."

Nihlus nodded. "Warn us if the barrier is going to collapse so you two can trade off. Don't drop it until the other one is expanding. Alenko, you'll be up first as we head down."

The Alliance biotic nodded, and the four delved into the tunnel once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_While Nihlus is using the last names for every character, we decided not to do it with Tali, for similar reasons as to why Bioware did the same as they originally intended her last name to be the familiar, sort of like how in ME1 Ashley is almost always referred to as "Williams" in most dialogue outside the romance arc. However, it just didn't roll very well with the dialogue, so we did the same thing Bioware did: just used her first name._

_Now, as you are probably asking: Why deploy Seekers on Therum, of all places, if they die in the heat? The answer was one we came up with early to justify why they would not be used on Eden Prime or New Syracusae: Geth ships could not carry them due to not having sufficient life support - after all, the geth didn't build their ships for organics. However, with a Collector Cruiser for this mission, they could bring them and use them underground. We will be explaining it in more detail, but this was something we anticipated being asked. As to why a Collector Cruiser at Therum but not elsewhere - mission parameters. The Eden Prime raid did not call for a massive cruiser as it was supposed to be a smash and grab followed by nuking the beacon for good measure. New Syracusae was likewise intended to be a quick smash and grab which the geth were suited for due to being more tech inclined than the Collectors. Using Seekers there would tip their hand, especially since they would be hitting places with reinforcements not too far out. Here? Well, Seekers are very useful in kidnapping a certain asari archeologist. As for why it didn't stay in orbit - better to perform repairs not where the enemy is liable to jump in with a bunch of troops suddenly. And well… Liara was a little more resourceful than they expected._

_As to Johnson, we really just needed a way to show the threat early since they don't have Veetor's data to go on. The biotic bubble idea we figured would work if Kaidan had time to think instead of being nailed before he really knew what was going on._

_Also, we want to thank RheasHelm, The Poarter, scottusa1, and dragon matt blue for their reviews._

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**Codex: Planets - Artemis Tau - Knossos System - Therum**

**Colonial Information:**

Affiliation: Citadel Space - Systems Alliance

Species - Human

Capital - Nova Yekaterinburg

Colony Founded - 2167 Common Era (2667 Galactic Standard)

Population - 34,000

Therum is a distant but rich industrial world claimed by the human Systems Alliance. Its plentiful heavy metals have fueled the recent manufacturing boom on Earth. Core samples rich with the fossils of simple silicon-based organisms indicate Therum was more habitable in the past than it is at present. Perhaps this explains the many Prothean ruins dotting the surface, most of which have been looted by mining corporations.

Therum is somewhat remote for an Alliance colony, one Mass Relay jump away from the Star Empire border in the Hades Gamma cluster. Military presence at Therum is generally limited to Alliance patrols through Artemis Tau and a standard garrison base for anti-pirate activity despite Therum's contributions to Earth's economy. This is much to the protests of the Russian Federation's representative on the Alliance Parliament who insists the colony should have a greater garrison, particularly given the presence of Citadel archaeological teams seeking to salvage what is left of the ruins after the corporations had finished their looting.

Despite the breathable atmosphere, colonial structures on Therum typically involve airlocks and full seals in order to maintain more hospitable atmospheres for its colonists, due to the sub-Earth pressures and vastly increased temperature. Eldfell-Ashland Energy (EAE), a major Earth mining cologomorate, has invested a considerable amount of resources into this project both for its own facilities and the residential neighborhoods of Nova Yekaterinburg, citing it as a necessary expense for human dignity that all mining corporations should be willing to pay for such colonies. Lesser companies with less resources find themselves hard pressed to match EAE's offerings to those entering the workforce of the colony.


	13. Priority: Therum - Ruins

"How's the barrier?" Nihlus asked as they came out of the tunnel and entered a large cavern with catwalks along the rock wall and a lift on the far side. The strange buzzers that the Collectors had deployed were throwing themselves against the biotic bubble that Alenko was maintaining, but to no effect. Meanwhile, the Spectre, two candidates, and the Alliance biotic walked slowly down the passage.

"Holding," Alenko said quickly, a biotic aura partially obscuring most of his body and completely covering his hands.

"Call out when you want me to take it up," Shepard said as they walked down a ramp to reach the catwalk that led to the lift. Alenko simply grunted in response.

Nihlus glanced down at his omni-tool and kept an eye on the scanner. It was erratic with the new bugs moving around constantly, but he was able to get a rough lifesign reading. He raised his hand and the group stopped at a corner and he leaned just enough to look around the rock face and down the next ramp in the catwalk.

"Three Collectors just down the ramp," Nihlus warned. "Williams, Shepard, rifles." The two nodded and took up a position next to him on the rock wall. Nihlus nodded to Alenko, who moved forward. As soon as the barrier completely encompassed the space between the wall and the railing, the three sprang out and opened fire. The Collectors were already in what little cover there was down the ramp or had used the lift as cover, so only one went down in the initial exchange of fire while the other two only had their barriers weakened.

Alenko grunted as the biotic barrier took the fire towards them. "I'm okay!" he called as Shepard started lowering her rifle.

"Williams, one charging!" Nihlus called and the two zeroed in on the Collector storming towards them, shredding its remaining biotic barrier protection and putting several holes into its chest and head. The enemy trooper collapsed backwards like a ragdoll as the last one rose out of cover. However, Shepard picked it off with a few shots that went into its upper torso and head and it fell out of the lift and into the cavern below.

"Catwalk clear," Williams called.

"Move forward. Alenko, you okay?" Nihlus asked as he looked at the Alliance biotic.

"I'm fine!" he said, "Just try to keep them from shooting too much!"

"With the barrier, cover won't be a problem," Shepard pointed out as she checked her rifle's heatsink to make sure it cooled down. "So we should skip taking cover and focus on taking them out before they overwhelm the Lieutenant."

_Excellent call,_ Nihlus noted, nodding as they crept forward. "Agreed, if the barrier goes down cover won't help us, at least until we're out of these buzzers"

They continued to move forward, coming to the end of the catwalk where normal rock was available to walk on again. If they moved forward, that is. However, forward was not an option as at least ten meters ahead of them was an energy field, behind which was a tiled artificial tunnel set as a wide oval.

"Prothean energy field," Nihlus said as he recognized it from the information he had studied before the Eden Prime mission. "Unless there's a switch out here we won't be able to bypass it."

"How did that marine get past it?" Shepard asked.

"Maybe it's one-way?" Williams offered as she glanced over the side of the railing, skirting the edge of the biotic barrier but not leaving it. "Either way, the protheans sure build to last. This place looks like a lava flow poured in here."

Nihlus gestured to the lift. "We better move. Shepard, as soon as we're on the elevator trade off with Alenko."

"Understood," Shepard answered as she holstered her assault rifle to her armor as the four walked onto the elevator. Nihlus quickly activated it and the elevator lurched before descending as the buzzers continued to try and breach the barrier.

"Three… two… one…" Shepard counted down as her body was surrounded with the blue aura of biotics. "Field's up!" she said as soon as a second biotic barrier materialized under Alenko's and the Alliance biotic let it go, dropping to a knee.

"Hey, you okay?" Williams asked, crouching next to him.

"I'll be fine," he said as he pushed himself up and drew his assault rifle and looked out of the elevator, which was taking them past more passageways like the one they had been blocked from, but these had sealed doors rather than energy barriers.

The lift came to a halt and led them to another catwalk that lead them to the next lift in a Z-shaped path to get around a rock formation. Williams switched to her shotgun as they moved forward slowly. _Good,_ Nihlus noted as he did the same, _not waiting for an order to switch weapons when entering an ideal place for it._

"Here they come!" Alenko warned as four Collectors flew up from below.

"Two more behind us!" Nihlus warned as he saw them coming up from behind them and fired his shotgun, hitting one of the aliens as it was coming over the railing and knocking it back into the rock wall. The wings seemed to break and it fell below, meanwhile Williams and Alenko opened fire on their opponents ahead.

Shepard grunted as the biotic barrier shrugged off the fire and Alenko turned. "Call if you need me to take over!" he shouted as Nihlus hit the other Collector's rifle with a disc from his omni-tool. The disc hit and sabotaged the weapon, causing it to vent heat into the insectoid alien's face. With his target's biotic barrier weakened, Nihlus nailed it with another shotgun blast and sent it crashing into the railing.

As Nihlus turned, he saw that the other two were finishing off their side of the work. One of the Collectors had rushed inside the barrier, but Williams hit it with her shotgun's stock before slashing its throat with an omni-blade strike while Alenko had shocked one of the Collectors with his omni-tool and it tumbled over the railing.

"How's the barrier?" Nihlus asked.

"Holding," Shepard quickly shot out. "Are we moving?"

"We are," Nihlus said as he watched the strange paralyzing insects still throwing themselves against the barrier. They were unusual things, he could make out four legs and what he thought was a rather Collector-like head on them, but with how fast they were moving and how much they had been throwing themselves against the barrier it was hard to get a proper look at them.

"Huh," Alenko said as they got onto the next lift, looking towards the prothean ruin. "The tiles inside kinda make me think of a bathroom floor."

"Great, now I'm going to be wondering if they ever found a prothean outhouse," Williams muttered as the lift began taking them further down.

Nihlus shook his head. _Too talkative; probably to relieve the tension but this is not the best time._

The lift suddenly screeched loudly and came to a halt and it was quickly obvious why: the catwalk on that level had been blown to pieces and the normal metal base for the lift was missing. Sparks flew from the rails as it gave out and became stuck, but the forward railing still opened. Nihlus stepped forward and looked down, nodding as he saw a drop. A bit steep, but achievable.

"We'll need to drop down," he said.

"Might be tough," Alenko said as he looked at Shepard. "We have to time it to stay in the barrier."

Nihlus nodded. "Shepard, get on the floor. Williams, pick her up and carry her as we drop down."

"Uh…" Williams said as she raised an eyebrow - visible through the clear visor of her helmet - and glanced at her Imperial counterpart. "Okay, you ready?"

_Good, willing to do it even if it's awkward,_ Nihlus noted as Shepard simply slowly lowered herself to the ground to make it easier for Williams to pick her up. As she reached forward, there was a small spark and Williams withdrew her hand.

"Static discharge," Alenko explained before anyone could say anything. "Side effect of biotic usage, just like ships and FTL."

"Right," Williams said before she reached again and picked up Shepard carefully and put the knight over her shoulder. Nihlus nodded as the other three took positions - Williams and Shepard in the middle, Alenko on the right, and Nihlus on the left.

"On three," Nihlus said. "One, two… three!"

The three leapt down and landed on another catwalk below. Alenko and Nihlus landed smoothly, Nihlus dropping to a crouch as he hit the ground. Williams however stumbled as she landed, falling backwards under the extra weight of an armored Knight Hospitaller.

"Alenko!" Nihlus warned and the Alliance biotic reacted quickly, creating another biotic barrier bubble under Shepard's, which flickered briefly.

"I'm okay!" Shepard shouted immediately.

"Drop your barrier, Alenko has it," Nihlus ordered. Shepard's biotic aura stopped glowing and she rolled off of her Alliance counterpart.

"That went well," Williams muttered sarcastically from her backside. Shepard scoffed in amusement as she stood and offered a hand to Williams, who took it and they all drew their weapons again.

"_Hello? Is someone there! I'm trapped! Hello?"_

"What was that?" Shepard asked as she looked around quickly.

"Over here," Nihlus said as he gestured for Alenko to move forward and they stood in front of another energy barrier.

And behind it was a young asari trapped in another energy bubble behind the barrier.

"Can you hear me?" the asari asked.

"Doctor T'Soni, I presume?" Williams asked in response

"Yes, thank the Goddess there are still people alive down here!" T'Soni said as she sighed in relief. "I was afraid I would be stuck here until geth and Collectors found a way around. Can you believe it? Geth beyond the Perseus Veil! And not only that, but they are working with the Collectors! It's insanity!"

"So, how did you end up there?" Nihlus asked as he noted in the back of his mind that T'Soni was acting like this was something that had never happened before, not an ongoing event of galactic history. He looked around to see a way around the first barrier, but there was no visible route in sight.

"I ran here when those strange bugs appeared. I tried to activate the defenses, hoping they could hold them off. I... I must have tripped something I wasn't supposed to, because now I'm stuck in this force field."

"Can you shut it down?" Nihlus asked, even though he could guess the answer. T'Soni struggled little bit before shaking her head.

"No, I can't move or use my biotics, and I don't know if there is another way around," she said. Nihlus nodded and stopped suddenly. He turned his head towards where they had came from.

"What is it?" Shepard asked, also turning. Nihlus raised his talons to silence her and tried to concentrate. Over the buzzing of the bugs, he could hear some sort of clanking.

"You hear that?" he asked. The others shook their heads. A few seconds later though, the clanking sound became more audible.

"Now I hear it," Shepard said, Williams nodding her head in agreement.

"Something's headed this way," Williams added as her eyes went wide. "Something big."

"Look out!" Shepard shouted as a piece of catwalk fell from above. They threw themselves to the side - Williams grabbing Alenko - and they landed roughly in the corner.

And as Nihlus turned around to look up he felt his stomach churn. What had broken the catwalk was a large, bug-like construct with four insectoid but clearly synthetic legs and a hard grey shell of similar material. The monstrosity's four blue eyes were staring at them with a glow that was completely reminiscent of biotic auras.

"Oh God!" Williams shouted in horror as the thing screamed at them and revealed that under the two forward and apparently flexible carapace pieces was the core of the abomination.

Heads. Human heads… husk heads, all mangled together with their bodies hidden behind their heads or the rest of the armored carapace. The eyes glowed bright and Nihlus realized what was about to happen.

"MOVE!" he shouted and lead them down the ramp as the monster fired beams from its eyes.

XXXXXXXX

"_Look alive! Enemy reinforcements coming up the trail!" _Garrus warned over their helmet radios. Wrex turned his head towards where the turian was looking from his sniper's perch and adjusted the rangefinder in his helmet to look down the path they had entered the dig site with. A geth patrol was approaching, a dozen strong.

A geth patrol lead by a krogan.

A krogan who had cybernetics, glowing a faint blue underneath the krogan's skin and ending at the headplate. A krogan who wore black armor with a light blue glow along the chest, thighs, and two tubes along the shoulder reminiscent of those on geth drones. _What in the Void is that?_ Wrex wondered.

"Okay, I see it!" Jenkins said. "Let's keep 'em away! Looks like it's mostly normal troopers."

"That krogan's going to be a problem, though," Tali warned as she checked her shotgun. "Garrus, ready with the anti-air battery?"

"_No problem!"_ the turian answered when four rockets shot out from the geth squad and the turian leapt clear of the impact point. The anti-aircraft battery took the rockets directly and exploded. _"I'm okay!"_ the turian shouted as he skidded along the catwalk.

"Shit shit shit!" Jenkins warned as he and Tali ducked into cover. "We need to take out those rocket troopers!"

"You do that, I'll deal with the krogan!" Wrex shouted as he checked his Claymore shotgun.

"_Wait!"_ the enemy krogan shouted as he held a hand up as the younger krogan - not by much, though - saw him. "Krogan warrior, I address you directly! I am Strang, a Battlemaster from Clan Nakmor! I offer you the chance to join me so the krogan may regain the glory they have lost!"

"By working for Saren?" Wrex asked incredulously as he created a brief biotic field around him to let his opponent know that he was also a Battlemaster. "Hah! Some way to restore our people!"

"You still do not know what he intends to build, do you fellow Battlemaster?" Strang lowered his head briefly after Wrex's biotic showing. "When Saren completes his task, there will still be need for military might!"

"Can we shoot this asshole already?" Jenkins asked hotly as he and Tali were still in cover.

"Wait," Wrex said before Jenkins could rise to take a shot but made a point of looking back towards Garrus on the catwalk, "I want to hear what Saren's offering these krogan." He blinked several times in rapid succession, activating an in-helmet system that silenced his helmet's aural projection. Only those he shared a comm frequency with would hear him. "Jenkins, Tali, move around for an ambush once I get him ranting, he'll be focused on me and our turian friend. When I give the signal, rip them open in a crossfire."

"Got it," Tali answered and with a few blinks Wrex switched his helmet back to normal audio so he could talk to this Battlemaster of Clan Nakmor, learn what was going on. Many tried to rebuild the krogan horde. Most of the time the STG or Spectres stopped them, or they were killed by a rival with the same idea. But with the geth supporting a krogan war host, or the Collectors and who knows what kind of science?

That was something that Wrex needed to know about.

"Your companions fear us," Strang continued as Wrex looked back at the younger Battlemaster. "And rightly so! When Saren is victorious, when he brings the Reapers back, we krogan will have a place of honor! A place as the best military power in this galaxy, to bring back our ancient glory! With the power of the Reapers we will cast down the Council, destroy those who wronged us! The asari and salarians who used us as fodder for their wars, the turians who tried to sterilize us with the salarians' cowardly science!"

"Saren _is_ turian!" Wrex snapped angrily as both Tali and Jenkins managed to slip out of sight behind the rocks. This was a _Battlemaster_, the elite of the best warriors in the galaxy! He should have known better. _Still,_ Wrex considered as he weighed the situation carefully, _whatever these 'reapers' are, Saren has built a convincing lie to get a Battlemaster on his side._

"And unlike his brethren he will help us where Palaven leaves us to burn!" Strang shouted back.

"_Hurry up with the negotiations, I want to put a bullet in this monster's eye,"_ Garrus muttered. Wrex ignored the remark as Strang continued. Saren's lackey was still staring at Wrex and entering full stride with his rant.

"And we will not just avenge ourselves on the Council! We will take our revenge on those Imperials who patronize us, sending their 'holy' men to try and make us mewling followers like the quarians! All of them will remember the true might of the krogan and rue the day the Council failed to wipe us out!"

Tali made an angry noise over the radio at the comment about the quarians, but said nothing.

"And you are a _Battlemaster_," Wrex snarled at his younger counterpart in disgust. "You are supposed to be the leader of a krogan horde. A cut above the rank and file. A warrior who could look beyond the barrel of a gun and master the art of biotics. Someone who could stand above the other krogan, hold his head high, and guide his warriors to victories where bloodrage and bullets alone would fail!"

"That is exactly what I do!" Strang responded angrily. "I lead warriors of many clans! I lead those warriors to become the hammer that even the Collectors cannot be in battle! And I lead krogan warriors to bring us to glory!"

The other Battlemaster's cybernetics began to glow brighter and revealed the gruesome details behind the implants running not only along the veins of the krogan's head, but the eyes began to glow brighter too. Strang seemed to be less of a warrior and more of a machine waiting to strike, breathing slower than he should have been naturally. Even with all the things he had seen over the centuries, Wrex felt a spike of fear. An instinct he often disregarded or suppressed, but never allowed himself to forget.

"There is more to leading than barking orders!" Wrex finally shouted back. "You need to think; what has Saren done to you! Those cybernetics, where did you get those?!"

"These?" Strang said, brushing his neck briefly. "A gift, a taste of the power the Reapers will give us. While it is not sufficient to eradicate the genophage, it makes us stronger, faster, and combined with the higher purpose for all krogan we have it makes us unstoppable!" Jenkins and Tali both reported that they were in position as Strang finished.

"Cybernetics are useful for replacing lost organs or repairing a crippling war wound," Wrex said as he forced himself to turn his anger cold. Now was the time to focus and plan the attack. "And we Battlemasters need them to utilize our biotic powers… but this? This is the future for all krogan - to be wired up like a salarian's computer?"

"You are blind, warrior! BLIND!" The enemy Battlemaster shouted angrily at the implication, "You could join us and fight for a better future for all krogan! We can move beyond the piles of those stillborn and take our revenge!"

Wrex paused as he remembered an odd job he had done in the past. "Why now?" Wrex asked.

"What?"

"Why now are krogan fighting in the open for Saren? Why now are the krogan working for him being augmented with these cybernetics? He's used mercenaries before for his dirty work. But he never augmented them like you. And no krogan helped on Eden Prime or New Syracusae. So he was holding them back. But now here you are, leading a squad of synthetics."

"Saren tired of sneaking around. The time for open war is now! The time for revenge on the Council is now! When we finish this war, the Reapers will return and nothing will stop them!"

Wrex smirked as widely as he could under his helmet. "Maybe. But there is one thing that Saren and the Reapers will not be able to stop."

"Huh?" Strang asked in confusion, tilting his head quizzically as he tightened his grip on his geth shotgun. "And what is that?"

"You're surrounded."

Before anyone else could act, Wrex grabbed a grenade from his belt and used his biotics to launch it at Saren's lackies. Before the grenade detonated, Jenkins stood out of cover and mowed down the geth with rocket launchers and Tali hacked the yellow painted geth carrying a flamethrower. The resulting explosion wrecked the geth before they could respond in full and Garrus put a sniper round directly into Strang's eye, though a biotic barrier caught the shot.

"I've got the Battlemaster!" Wrex shouted as he charged.

XXXXXXXXXXX

**Prothean Ruins, Bottom Level**

The monstrosity followed them as the group tried to run into a better position, though they were hampered by the need for Alenko to maintain the biotic barrier. Shepard had tried to lift the thing with a biotic attack, but the creature didn't seem to even notice.

Williams threw a grenade at it, with the grenade exploding right in front of the many faces the monster had. The grenade did not faze it much, if at all, and it seemed to only get pissed from the attack. Small arms fire just kept pouncing off the shell that the thing had. Moving behind a large rock, the team tried to catch their breath as the monstrosity approached them.

"Damn thing has a biotic barrier!" Shepard said angrily as she tried another biotic attack and a biotic sphere enveloped the creature. "That's just not fair."

"Fair and Spectre duties rarely go in the same sentence," Nihlus said sarcastically, though he had to agree with the sentiment. "Also, save your biotics."

"Thought I might be able to stagger it. Of course, God has a nasty sense of humor sometimes," Shepard answered dryly, ducking her head as the abomination fired another beam, blasting a hole in the rock face they had hidden behind.

"We better move, now!" Williams shouted. Nihlus look over at the creature as it seemed to float in the air for a moment. Then it smashed into the ground, sending a biotically charged shockwave towards them. Nihlus managed to stay upright, as did Shepard, but the two Alliance marines fell down when the ground shifted underneath them.

For a half second, Nihlus looked in horror as the barrier that had been protecting them disappeared, exposing them to the swarm. Just as the swarm seemed to realize the opening and move in, a new barrier pushed against them, this one slightly smaller than the previous one. Looking behind himself, Nihlus saw that Shepard had created a new one.

"We need to move," Shepard said as she grunted from the strain, "I need to strengthen the barrier!" Nodding, Nihlus helped the two Alliance marines up and the team began to move deeper into the mine, where more boulders offered greater protection.

"Left side!" Nihlus ordered as the monster closed in and they approached a work tent loaded with crates. "Keep moving and whittle it down!"

He fired his shotgun again as Alenko activated his omni-tool and tried to break its biotic barrier with a tech attack, though the barrier shrugged it off entirely. "Damn it!" he cursed as they got behind the boulders.

"That barrier's shrugging off everything we throw at it!" Williams snarled as she and Nihlus both threw grenades at it. There was a brief flicker on the barrier but it kept moving closer.

"It's going to fire again!" Alenko shouted as they began to move along the large tent.

"Take the barrier up again once it hits!" Nihlus ordered as he and Williams continued to fire at their target. The eyes in the monster's head began to glow brighter again and both moved to the side as it fired. The beams lanced into the biotic barrier and ran across it before overshooting and Shepard collapsed to a knee from the strain.

"Kaidan, now!" Williams shouted as she crouched next to Shepard and kept firing at the Collector's monstrosity. Alenko nodded and began to create his own barrier. Shepard dropped hers as soon as Alenko had his up and she stood, nodding and drawing her assault rifle to add to the barrage.

They kept moving backwards and around the tent. The corner gave them a brief reprieve and as soon as the creature came around again, the three fired at it with grenades and assault rifle fire, surprising the creature and causing it to pause briefly as its barrier flickered again.

"I think the barrier's weakening!" Shepard called out as they moved around another corner. Nihlus nodded as he glanced back and noticed something in the distance, near where the actual prothean structure was. A cave, large enough for them to use but small enough that the monster would be unable to follow them. _And I would rather not be in range of those legs,_ he thought.

"Keep firing and move towards the prothean ruin!" he ordered as Williams hurled another grenade at the creature. "Alenko, there's a cave, move us towards it!"

"Hey, it stopped following us!" Shepard called out in surprise when she stopped firing to let her rifle cool down as they made their way back across the excavation site. Nihlus paused in surprise as he looked at the monster which was stopped… and crouching.

"Shit!" Nihlus swore, dropping his assault rifle and grabbing both human women, pulling the them out of the way and into Alenko. The four collapsed to the side as the creature leapt at them, narrowly overshooting the side of the barrier. The monster came down with a crash and a roll, hitting the wall under where Liara was trapped.

"It's getting back up!" Williams shouted. Shepard took over barrier duty as Alenko's flickered out of existence.

"My amp's out!" the Alliance biotic shouted in horror and the chill that meant ran through the whole group. They were down to Shepard for protection against these buzzers.

Nihlus looked around and saw that they were right next to the mining laser. Then he looked to the creature ahead as it regained composure. Activating his omni-tool, he shoved it into the laser and overrode the systems.

"Look away!" he shouted as the laser powered up. Averting his eyes, there was a loud crash as the laser shot up to full power and bore a hole into the ground with the power of a dying star. A skull piercing shriek echoed throughout the mine and the strange buzzers flying around seemed to back off from the sheer heat of the laser.

When Nihlus looked back, the area was clear of the buzzers for the moment and there was no sign of the monstrosity that had chased them through the excavation site.

What he did see, however, was their way forward. "Come on!" He ordered as Shepard's barrier fizzled out. Not needing to be told twice, they sprinted down the passage. "Shepard get that barrier back up!"

"Here they come!" Williams shouted as they ran into the ruin itself. The buzzers were coming back. As they reached a central platform in the ruin, there was a loud hiss and steam vented into the passage behind them. Hot enough that there was a heat distortion, but even with that Nihlus could see it clearly.

The buzzers were backing off from the steam, and the single, disoriented one that got through found itself victim to a few rounds from Williams. "Okay, that was lucky," Williams admitted as she lowered her rifle.

"At least they aren't bulletproof," Alenko commented. "Though what was that? Some sort of prothean defense mechanism?"

Nihlus shook his head. "No, if it was we would have been gassed too. It looks like we just damaged some of the plumbing with that laser." The turian Spectre turned towards the central console.

He quickly noticed that the console had both prothean and asari text. He assumed that the team had time to install translation softwares and hit the appropriately labeled switch. _So, mom making me learn a few common asari languages wasn't a waste of time after all, _he mused. Translators covered it most of the time, but most schools still taught a few basics from other languages.

"So, what was that?" Alenko asked as the elevator rumbled and began to climb up the ruins. "That monster."

"Safe to say that we just survived the Praetorian that Benezia mentioned," Shepard answered as she looked down at her torn tabard, which had been further ripped apart by the rocky floor as they had fallen down during the last battle.

"We're going to need to get some heavy weapons," Williams commented as the elevator slowed down. "That thing shrugged off just about everything we threw at it."

Nihlus nodded as their elevator ride ended and they found themselves behind T'Soni.

"How did you get in here?" T'Soni asked as the elevator came to a halt, turning her head as much as she could to see them.

"Mining laser and little bit of luck," Nihlus explained. He looked around and noticed a control panel, another one of prothean make. "So how do we shut this thing down?"

"As far as I know, there should be a button on the console," T'Soni said, turning her head so she was looking forward again. "I didn't have much time to notice it's exact position, but it's somewhere in the upper-right part of the console."

The four clustered around the control panel. It opened easily, displaying a wide range of options and incomprehensible text. _I knew I should have studied prothean..._ Nihlus thought to himself. Suddenly, Shepard leaned forward and pressed few buttons and T'Soni dropped down with a light thud.

"How did you know what to press?" Alenko asked curiously. Shepard tilted her head, a sign of confusion among the humans as Nihlus remembered.

"It was written in plain Arabic," she answered. Williams and Alenko exchanged looks. "It said 'Intruder containment activated. One intruder contained.' and then 'Release'. I guessed that meant our doctor here."

"What?" T'Soni asked as she stood up again. "It should be in prothean! We never had a chance to install the translation software."

"Umm... it looks like it's Arabic to me," Shepard said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Side-effect of the Beacon?" WIlliams offered. "I mean, it has been messing with your head," Williams then paused and winced, like she had a slip of the tongue. _Are they hiding something?_ Nihlus wondered curiously as he watched Williams' reaction.

"We can talk about this on the _Normandy_," he said, adding reproval on his voice, or at least what he hoped sounded like reproval to humans. There was a loud rumble and pieces of the rock walls outside fell loose. "For now it's time to get out. This place is going to collapse at any moment."

"How? That thing smashed our way out!" Alenko asked as he pointed beyond the energy barrier where part of the fallen catwalk was visible.

"The elevator should lead us straight to the top," T'Soni offered.

"We'll take it then," Nihlus said, looking over the buzzers that were smashing against the barrier. "I rather not try to climb and deal with those things at the same time."

"Is it just me or is the number of buzzers dropping?" Williams said, looking at the swarm. "I swear there were more."

"Actually, yeah..." Alenko nodded. They didn't need to look for a reason long, as one of the tunnels began to leak molten rock, not much, but enough to make Nihlus worry.

"Looks like the geological stability of this region has been compromised. Outer tunnels must have cracked and allowed the lava to get inside," T'Soni said, taking steps towards the back of the ruins. "It's going to fill this place in around half an hour."

"That's good," Nihlus nodded.

"Good?!" T'Soni screamed, stopping dead in her tracks and starting at him. "This entire place is going to be filled with lava and anything we hoped to learn about the protheans will be destroyed with it!"

"Buzzers can't stand the heat," Williams added and indeed, buzzers around the small lava flow, which was increasing at worrying rate, were either flying away or dropping down. "We won't need to deal with them."

"Even then, I rather not try to see how much our hardsuits can handle," Shepard said as she gestured towards the way they had came. "We should move, the sooner we are out of here the better."

"Agreed. Doctor T'Soni, lead the way," Nihlus ordered.

The asari archeologist nodded and lead them back to the elevator and quickly hit a few buttons. The elevator started to move them up, shaking the whole way as the ruin began to rumble. They could see rocks and pieces of catwalk falling on the other side of the energy barriers.

"Uh, how are we going to get past the barriers?" Alenko asked uneasily as a piece of the ceiling fell on the edge of the elevator.

"They're one-way," T'Soni elaborated, eyes wide at the destruction beginning to surround them. "So we can just run through them on this end!"

"That explains how Johnson got out," Williams muttered as the elevator came to a stop and they saw the way ahead was clear. The few buzzers left were flying around disoriented and collapsing, bursting into small flames. Nihlus could feel the sheer heat building up in the ruin. Running out onto the catwalk before them, he paused at the rail and looked down and noticed the orange magma at the bottom. _That explains it,_ he thought as they ran forward along the way they had came.

"Look out!" Alenko shouted, grabbing Williams and pulling her back before a large rock could fall on her.

"Thanks," she said with a nod as she regained her footing and the two continued running forward along the ramp as more pieces of rock from the cave's ceiling began to fall.

"Tunnel's still intact, move!" Nihlus shouted as they reached it and ran up the tunnel, not stopping the whole way up. Nihlus finally came to a halt at the top of it as the tunnel began to collapse behind them and looked down before sprinting down the ramp at the dig site.

"Everyone alive?" he asked as the tunnel fully collapsed behind them. The metal ramp that had lead to it also began to collapse.

"We're good," Wrex rumbled and Nihlus noticed that the dig site was a mess. More geth and a heavily enhanced krogan were all sprawled around, and in the krogan's case was lying in a large puddle of blood. The team left up top were also covered with stains - Wrex was covered in blood - and other marks of battle damage on their armor. "Just had some reinforcements to deal with."

"A krogan?!" Shepard asked in surprise. "They threw a krogan at you guys?"

"Wait a second," Williams said in horror. "When did Saren have krogan?"

"We'll debrief on the _Normandy_," Nihlus ordered as the ground shook. "Let's get out of here before this entire place collapses!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**One Hour Later**

_**SSV Normandy**_**, Therum Orbit**

"_Good thing you guys legged it from the ruins,"_ Joker said over the intercom. _"The _Normandy_ isn't equipped to land in molten sulfur. Has a nasty habit of frying our sensors and melting our hull, you know, just for future reference."_

"We almost died down there and your pilot's making jokes?!" T'Soni asked angrily.

"Relax," Williams said with a smirk, "if we couldn't crack jokes we'd be crying."

"I… see," the asari admitted uncomfortably.

"Military bravado," Etel added as she recalled the commentary that Hospitaller shuttle pilots sometimes made during combat drops. "Coping mechanism for the stress. Though I'm not sure how stressful _his_ job was this time…"

"_If you want to pilot a stealth frigate, by all means come on up here,"_ Joker added.

"Joker," Anderson chided, "focus on coordinating with the fleet and be on watch for that Collector ship."

"_Aye aye,"_ the pilot answered, suddenly tight and straightforward as he returned to focusing on his job with the newly arrived Alliance reinforcements.

"Now then," Nihlus said. "We need to discuss what happened."

Etel felt her gut churn again. Here it comes. The visions she was seeing. This was going to drop her candidacy, she knew it. Nevermind the fact that they had kept it hidden from him.

"Well, Saren has krogan mercenaries," Wrex rumbled and Etel had to fight to avoid sighing in relief. Another delay in the inevitable argument.

"And loaded them up with cybernetics and geth weapons," Tali added.

"What disturbs me more is that fact than the fact he has krogan to begin with," Wrex elaborated. "I worked with Saren, once."

"You did?" Etel asked in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It was just another job to me, I only remembered after seeing that Battlemaster," the old krogan explained. "He had hired a bunch of mercs to hit some cargo shipments and afterwards he was inspecting our largest haul. I had a really bad feeling about him, so I didn't stick around to get paid. Every other merc on that job turned up dead."

Etel suppressed a whistle. That was certainly thorough. Honorless and despicable, but thorough.

"Any idea what he was after?" Nihlus asked.

Wrex shook his head. "No. He was just moving through it, a volus merchant ship we hit. It was food, medical supplies, a few basic weapons, but nothing big besides the quantity. I never realized it was Saren, though. Only figured it out after seeing that krogan working for him, or I'd of mentioned it sooner."

The turian Spectre nodded. "Thank you for sharing that, though. It does confirm that Saren has been dirty for longer than we thought."

_He's taking this rather well,_ Etel noted in surprise. The Alliance Marines looked uncomfortable at the idea that their krogan buddy had been a pirate and even she had to admit her opinion of Wrex had lowered knowing that he had been raiding volus merchant ships.

"Saren is also promising these krogan something more, though," Wrex added.

Garrus tilted his head. "Sounded to me like the usual. Restore krogan power, take revenge, so on and so forth."

"The way he talked about it though…" Jenkins said before trailing off. Wrex nodded.

"Promises to return the krogan's might as a horde and forming an empire are a credit a dozen. Very few, if any, take them seriously and even those who decide to follow the promises are usually more in it for the money than for belief. This guy... he had conviction." Wrex was clearly unnerved as he explained. "The sort of stuff that makes those Imp missionaries arrive and _stay_ in Tuchanka, rather than pick the first shuttle out after first one dies."

"Wait a minute," Williams said, as she put her hands up, "you're saying that these guys are zealots?"

"Sort of," Wrex said. "You can usually rope few young ones in with promises, but to inspire that in a _Battlemaster_? Something is going on here, and we should expect more krogan to show up. Saren probably kept them hidden earlier, but now that this is turning into an open conflict…" The entire group shifted uncomfortably. One enemy krogan was bad enough, but to see the krogan they had unnerved?

"What about those cybernetics?" Tali asked. "I took some scans after you killed him, but I couldn't recognize the make." She activated her omni-tool and display a hologram of the krogan battlemaster, or rather what remained of his corpse, to the group. "Not helped by the fact that you completely tore him apart." Wrex simply shrugged at the mild accusation.

"Those eyes," Anderson said grimly as the team turned towards the displayed hologram. "There's something about them. Unnatural, for lack of a better term."

"Cybernetics," Garrus said slowly. "And a lot of them. But what does that have to do with this promise to the krogan? The battlemaster even outright said it would not cure the genophage."

"Maybe those Collectors are working on something?" Williams offered as she leaned forward. "And the cybernetics is just to make them as powerful as possible in the meantime, an offer to keep them on board while they work on it."

"Dozens of groups have tried to cure the genophage," Nihlus said retorted as he folded his arms, "none have succeeded or come anywhere close."

"There's plenty of conspiracy theories about that," Etel pointed out as Tali shut the hologram off. "Half of them pointing to the STG."

"What theory _doesn't_ point to the STG or secret Citadel Defense Force actions?" Garrus asked incredulously as he shook his head. "I've heard more conspiracy theories about C-Sec being behind things than I've heard fairy tales. Anything goes wrong, the Citadel gets the blame."

Wrex shrugged. "Maybe. But it's easy to blame the salarians… not so easy to get krogan on board beyond a paycheck. Whatever these 'Reapers' are, Saren can convince krogan - intelligent krogan who should know better - that they're real. He has something that proves it."

Etel winced as a migraine hit, and not from her biotic usage. Reapers… always with these 'Reapers'.

"Speaking of these 'reapers'," Nihlus said as Etel felt her stomach tighten again, "Doctor T'Soni, do you have any idea on what this might be?"

The archeologist put a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "Well, ever since I started university I've been studying the downfall of the protheans. Over the past fifty years I've started to form a theory that something had wiped them out or crippled them enough that they could not survive."

"Wait, fifty years?" Williams asked incredulously.

"How old are you?" Jenkins asked and Alenko tilted his head curiously towards the asari.

T'Soni seemed embarrassed as she answered. "Well, I'm only a hundred and six, so amongst the asari I'm little more than a young adult fresh from leaving home."

"Damn I hope I look that good when I'm you're age," Williams said with a smirk, leaning back in her chair as T'Soni shifted uncomfortably again.

"Moving on," Nihlus said as he gave a light glare towards the marines.

"Yes," T'Soni said with a nod, "I can't offer any one thing that points to it, it's more of a gut feeling. One based on constant research and looking at the pattern, the cycle the galaxy goes through."

"Cycle?" Tali asked curiously.

"A cycle of extinction. The protheans were not the first. In fact, they very well might have been just like us: finding bits and pieces of the past that shoots their tech centuries ahead. And there's even less information on the ones who came before the protheans. It is as if something, somewhere, came along and removed everything, tried to bury it all."

"Not to disrespect your effort, but that seems a bit far fetched," Nihlus said. "I'm certain you are conducting yourself with good scientific ethic, but it's a bit much for me to swallow." Yet even as the Spectre denied it, for some reason Etel felt like this was it. Some gut feeling that she was right.

"I understand," the young archeologist said. Or at least, young by asari standards. "As I said, it's a gut feeling from my research. I know that if I keep digging, I'll be able to prove it. I just need to keep going. That's why I went to Therum - to try and learn from the ruins there." She scowled faintly. "Of course, that dream's gone."

"Sorry," Williams said as she raised her hands defensively, "We weren't trying to collapse it, but that thing was going to kill us. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not die and get turned into a husk just to save an ancient ruin."

"Few would," Anderson noted with a shrug. "Still, it is a great loss. Prothean technology is the basis of just about everything we build."

"Maybe for the Alliance," Tali corrected as she looked at the ship's captain. "but the Citadel's done developments past what the protheans did. The salarians once found a broken beacon on Dinalin and managed to extract an FTL method for small ships like fighters. But it was slower and less effective than what was in use at the time. It was still a helpful discovery, but technology is not just a race for prothean equipment."

"It just cheats the tech tree a bit?" Alenko chimed in. "Get some technology we wouldn't get in a few centuries early."

"That's one way to put it," Garrus commented as he leaned back in his chair.

"Prothean tech jump started everyone," T'Soni explained confidently. "Even the asari had their technology bolstered by the beacons we found on our first colonies. But as the Citadel developed, so did our own native research."

"But even then, prothean tech is extremely valuable, worth going to great lengths to acquire," Nihlus said as he steered the conversation back to the matter at hand. "You were saying something about trying to cover up the extinction, Doctor?"

"Yes," the asari said. "Prothean ruins seem to give us great insight into their technology, but their culture, who they were, seems to be mysteriously hidden and we've had little to find on that. Conveniently corrupted data files, texts are missing or non-existent, not even any signs of what they ate, what their literature was, how they dressed, children's toys… almost all we know about the protheans as people is theory work. Compare to the first asari city states or the advent of turian war hosts where we have rather detailed records on how they lived, what they believed, what rites of passage they underwent into adulthood."

"So, you're saying that someone came along and tried to erase the prothean culture but left the technology?" Etel asked. Somehow, this theory was making sense to her even though it flew in the face of most conventional teachings on what happened. After all, if you wanted to wipe a culture out, the technology they lived by was usually the first target.

"Quite so. However, so far I have no solid evidence of this. These ruins are ancient, so it should not come as a surprise that much has been lost. Finding working technology is rare already, not to mention writings or anything else. Any bodies would have decayed long time ago too."

"So, you have nothing on what Saren is looking for?" Nihlus finally said.

"Well, what _is_ he looking for?" T'Soni asked, leaning forward and looking at the Spectre. "It seems that it's prothean, but so are a lot of other things."

"Something called the Conduit," Etel explained. "Tali, you still have the evidence on you're omni-tool?"

The quarian nodded. "I grabbed a copy after we left New Syracusase, just in case. It's not too sensitive to carry on an omni-tool anymore."

"Smart move," Nihlus said as Tali replayed it. T'Soni's eyes went wide when she heard her mother's voice, but otherwise seemed intent on the details.

"All I know about the Conduit is that it was somehow tied to the extinction of the protheans," the archeologist finally said. "But that other voice - Benezia's. Was that why they were after me?"

Etel nodded grimly. "It was. The whole point of their attack on Therum was to get you. Apparently they thought your expertise would be useful."

"I am not sure how useful I could be," T'Soni said. "I might study the protheans, but I am not expert on the fine workings of their technology and I only know of the Conduit by name."

"Maybe they found something connected to it and they need someone versed with the protheans to figure it out?" Alenko offered.

"Or maybe Benezia just wanted her daughter again," Williams suggested. "Covered it up with her prothean expertise."

Etel nodded. "Which would be useful either way and would probably be an overall victory for Saren," she turned towards the young asari, "after all, if you're in the open you could be a threat just because of what you know about Benezia."

"But I haven't spoken to her in years!" T'Soni insisted and clearly rattled by the implication. "I don't know why she would help the geth and Collectors, or how she came to join them."

"Well, we stopped them here," Anderson finally said. "And if you're willing to help us I would be okay with you joining our crew as we try to hunt down Saren." At that, Williams shot Anderson a surprised look but said nothing. "Besides," Anderson continued, "you'll probably be safer with us than in the open where Saren could attack you again."

"Yes, you're right," T'Soni said with a nod. "It would probably be safer and my expertise on the protheans may be useful."

Before the conversation could continue, Joker cut in. _"Captain! The Collector ship is dropping out of FTL! Oh you gotta be kidding me, that ship's huge!"_

Anderson whirled around and punched up the footage on the briefing room's screen.

"God," Etel said in horror as she realized how large it was. "That's a _cruiser_?"

"_It's bugging out,"_ Joker noted as the ship turned as mass accelerator fire from the Alliance Fleet hit its shields and it jumped back into FTL.

"Interesting," Nihlus commented. "Joker, send me the footage, I'll include it in my report to the Council."

"_Okay,"_ Joker answered.

"Now then," Nihlus said as he turned back to the team. "Is there anything else that we need to discuss now?"

"We need a countermeasure for those bugs we faced in the mine," Alenko said. "The biotic barrier worked, but as we found out it's not too hard to disrupt that."

"Agreed," Etel said as she rubbed the back of her neck, laying her fingers on her biotic amp. "I am not sure how much static buildup we had from doing that."

The turian Spectre nodded. "I'll be sure to inform the Council - this is a kind of threat that could be disastrous for entire worlds if employed. For now, however, we should launch our missions expecting this to happen again."

"No arguments there," Jenkins said. "That Johnson guy looked horrible. He's still frozen down in the medbay."

"Also," Wrex rumbled, "with those ammo kits, count me out. I'm going to contact my own suppliers and get my incendiary kits. We need to be ready for krogan. Use the funds you put aside for me to arm the others."

"Are you sure?" Nihlus asked.

"Absolutely," Wrex answered with a voice that put Etel on edge. Something was affecting Wrex personally here, and she knew she was not the only one to notice as everyone was looking at Wrex strangely.

Whatever it was, however, Nihlus had either decided not to press the issue or was going to do it later. "Okay. Williams, Shepard, T'Soni, I want you to stay with me for debriefing the Council. The rest of you, you're on your own time. Alenko, I'd suggest talking to Chakwas about your static buildup."

The briefing room thinned out and Nihlus turned to his two candidates as T'Soni remained awkwardly sitting in her seat. "So," Nihlus finally said as he folded his arms. "Something I should be aware of?"

Etel shifted uncomfortably. The moment of truth. "It's the beacon, from Eden Prime," she explained. "The visions, dreams, whatever, they've been staying in my mind. Constantly poking at me in quiet hours or whenever we talk about those 'Reapers'..." Again the images flashed by. "I didn't want to say anything because I wasn't sure what it was."

"I see," Nihlus said as he looked to Williams. "And you knew?"

"Shepard told me," Williams explained as she glanced to the side briefly. "And she asked me to keep it quiet until she figured out what it was or if it became mission critical."

"Well," Nihlus said as he unfolded his arms. "I'm disappointed you two kept this from me, but at least you two trusted each other enough on this."

"I'm not sure if it is just a dream or feedback from the beacon, though," Etel added as she braced herself. "Part of why I was so hesitant to bring it up. I think… I think it has something to do with these 'Reapers' that Saren is on about." The images flashed through her mind again and she winced.

Nihlus' mandibles twitched and the briefing room was silent for a minute until Nihlus finally answered.

"I see," he said and Etel felt like she was being crushed under a cinder block. "What do you think? Do you really believe it to be a vision, or is this just a theory?"

"A theory," she admitted. "But it acts up whenever we talk about these 'Reapers'. That's why I wanted to keep it quiet, I wanted to be sure it was more than just a weird dream or something like that."

"If I may," T'Soni interjected. Nihlus nodded. "You said it was feedback from a beacon? A working one?"

"Wait," Williams said as she held her hand up, "are you suggesting that the beacon downloaded something into her when it zapped her?"

"Not the metaphor I would use, but yes," T'Soni admitted as she shifted in her seat. "Prothean beacons were designed to interface with the prothean mind, to directly impart information into the user. Using computers is something of a shortcut to get around it as the process was designed for prothean physiology," the asari looked at Etel with an awed look and she felt herself shifting uncomfortably again. "To remain sane after interfacing with a live beacon directly… any lesser mind would have been broken, deranged."

"So, it's really a vision?" Etel asked in surprise as Nihlus simply folded his arms again and remained silent.

"No, a message," the archeologist elaborated. "If you'd like, I could try and help you sift through it. I might be able to recognize some things."

"Um," Williams said as she looked around uncomfortably, "should we give you two some room?"

Etel smirked. "Relax, Williams, asari melding is only sexual if both parties want it to be. No offense," she added quickly as she looked at T'Soni.

"None taken," T'Soni said as she blushed awkwardly.

"So, you're saying you can understand it?" Nihlus asked curiously.

"Maybe," T'Soni admitted uncertainty. "But if nothing else I may be able to recognize parts of it."

"I don't see how it would hurt," Etel finally said as she stood up. "Alright, let's try this."

T'Soni nodded and stood as well, taking her hands and staring at her eyes. "Relax, let go… embrace eternity!"

Etel suddenly felt a rush and her vision blacked out. All her senses dulled as the two nervous systems mixed. The screams came back and her entire sight became a mess of orange and unclear images. Towers, machinery, someone screaming…

And as soon as it began it ended and Etel staggered backwards. T'Soni fell to the floor. Williams stood up, both her and Nihlus moving forward as the asari shook her head.

"Are you okay?" Nihlus asked they were now standing next to her.

"I'm, I'm fine," she stuttered, putting a hand on her head. "It's just the joining process is stressful. Especially the first time…"

"Uh, how long were you trapped in that barrier?" Williams asked slowly. "For that matter, when was the last time you ate?"

"I'll go to the medical bay," the asari said as Nihlus helped her up. "But… whatever you received, it's mangled. We need some way to translate it, the message was meant for a prothean, otherwise we won't be able to decipher it."

"But it's real?" Etel asked and the asari nodded.

"Yes. I recognized the buildings, though. Prothean architecture, from around the time they disappeared."

Williams nodded. "So, we need to find a way to decipher it, but it seems to be legitimate?"

"It seems so," Nihlus said as he let go of T'Soni. "Head down to the medbay, doctor."

"Thank you," she said as she walked out of the briefing room.

"Now then," Nihlus turned to his two candidates. "In the future, keep me apprised of issues like this. I understand why you kept it quiet, but given the unknown quantities of the beacon it's better to be safe rather than sorry."

"Are you going to tell the Council?" Etel asked.

"No, not until we have something more substantial. Still, we'll be alert for anything that can help verify this." Nihlus glanced towards the door. "I have my doubts about the theory on these 'Reapers', but it certainly would explain what turned Saren."

"And you aren't mad about the fact we kept this from you?" Williams asked.

"A little," the turian admitted with a faint shrug, "but your reasoning was sound. Still, keep me in the loop about matters like this in the future." He activated his omni-tool, "Now then, to debrief the Council on what happened…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

Author's Notes:

_Before someone asks, the Arabic language of the Empire is not the same as the one spoken on Earth today. They merely have the same name. Think it as the Grandfathers Axe Paradox, if you will. To Imperial citizens, it's still the "same" Arabic they spoke when they were abducted, merely with new words added to deal with the new concepts, nothing out of the ordinary over a thousand years. To someone from Earth, it's different. So, if you put Imperial Arabic and Real Life Arabic side by side, they will be different. Suffice it to say: to Shepard, it's Arabic. To an actual linguistics scholar, they would specifically designate it as an Imperial dialect of the language. _

_Also, Arabic is not the only language in the Empire, but it is easily the most predominant simply by demographics when the abduction happened. Other languages of the time are in the Empire and, if nothing else, preserved by scholars, but for Shepard at least she grew up with Arabic. Think of it like Maeko Matsuo, the guard captain in Noveria. She might be speaking English and threw in the Japanese honorifics from habit, or she could have been speaking Japanese and the translator used the honorifics. For the purposes of writing this, we will just assume that the setting's translators will cover it unless specifically noted like with the geth and Collectors._

_For those wondering why we replaced the Battlemaster with the Praetorian and did not show the Battlemaster fight: first, we wanted to play the Battlemaster more in how Saren is developing his forces and have dialogue that would have made sense since this is usually the first time you run into Saren-allied krogan. As to not showing it: the only thing there would of been Wrex and the Battlemaster engaged in melee, which would get repetitive fast. However, the conversation between Wrex and the enemy Battlemaster was something we wanted to do from the start and we wanted both teams to do something important. The tunnel team got Liara and barely survived a Praetorian, the surface team prevented reinforcements from chasing them down._

_Thanks to scottusa1, Jozern, and the guest for their reviews. Feedback about the story is always appreciated._

_The following Codex entries are for the Collectors - one mostly based on their canon entry (with a reference to 'constant red stasis fields' removed since those are never, ever portrayed in any material and seems to have been a leftover from early concept work), followed by an update to the entry that is in the process of being put out. Basically, the galaxy noticed stuff going on, an update is pending._

XXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Collectors**

Living beyond the Omega 4 mass relay in the Terminus Systems, the mysterious Collector species is glimpsed so rarely as to be taken for a myth by most in galactic society. In reality, Collectors are human-sized insectoid bipeds and can resemble massive winged beetles. They have never been seen in Citadel space and even in Terminus, they rarely appear beyond Omega 4 system.

Little is known about the Collectors, beyond the fact that they seem to be interested in collecting various artifacts throughout the galaxy, hence their name, as well as making strange requests. These request include, but are not limited, to asking for ten left handed salarians, or fifteen asari with purple pigmentation, six quarians who never left the Migrant Fleet, and more. Collectors usually offer technologies never seen before in return, or star maps to locations far beyond the known relay network.

Attempts to contact them have not been successful and no ship has returned from travel through the Omega 4 Relay, save for Collector vessels. Those seeking to make deals with the Collectors usually have to wait for the Collectors to contact them.

**Codex: Collectors - Proposed Update (Pending editorial approval)**

Recently, the Collectors have abandoned their isolation, allied themselves with the geth, and began attacking Citadel Space. The reasons for this alliance are unknown, but numerous reports of Collectors and geth working together have been confirmed during the attacks on Systems Alliance colony of Eden Prime and the Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem's colony of New Syracusae.

As such, many military and intelligence experts are scrambling to identify the reasons for this sudden hostility. While information is scarce, there are rumors of Collectors and geth attacking locations with confirmed prothean connections and ruins in the Terminus Systems.


	14. Normandy: To Sur'kesh

"All in all, despite the loss of the ruin, the mission was a resounding success," Nihlus said to conclude his report to the Council.

"_Agreed,"_ Councilor Valern said with a firm nod as he was looking over information from his end of the transmission. _"However, these strange insects that the Collectors have deployed. Sir Shepard, you were employed in keeping them at bay. Would you say the barrier countermeasure is sufficient?"_

Etel shook her head. "As a stopgap measure, it is enough, but it will not last beyond a skirmish." She leaned her head to the left and put a hand on where her biotic implant was. "I have not checked exactly how much static I built up, but I was pushing the limit of my biotic abilities maintaining the barrier and had to trade off with Lieutenant Alenko, whose amp overheated."

"_Asari barrier specialists would probably be able to perform this battlefield role,"_ Councilor Tevos said as she looked between her peers. _"However, I will leave the specifics to our officers. Spectre Kryik, have your mission's biotics write up their own analysis on the barrier tactic and send them to the Citadel for distribution. It may be a stopgap measure, but it is one that will save lives."_

"Of course," Nihlus answered with a nod. "However, we need a different way to deal with these swarms. An antidote or some other countermeasure."

"_Agreed,"_ Sparatus said firmly. _"Having to remain under a biotic field is no way to fight a war. Councilor Valern, does the Special Tasks Group have any assets that could be useful in creating something to deal with this?"_

The salarian put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. _"Yes, I can think of someone who would be skilled enough to do so."_

Etel found herself wondering who the specialist was, and it sounded like he had done something of similar magnitude in the past. "If I may, who is this scientist?" she asked.

"_Professor Mordin Solus,"_ Valern said. _"He has done… research, for the STG in the past,"_ Valern seemed keen on not specifying what it was as he continued on._ "He recently retired from the STG as he is getting on in his years. Commander Williams, is the _Normandy_ equipped for scientific research?"_

Williams paused a moment, clearly weighing what to say before answering. "No, no labs installed," she grimaced afterwards and Etel had a suspicion as to why.

"_Mmm. Well, I'll forward you the dossier regardless, Spectre Kryik."_

"Why did you ask?" Williams said as she folded her arms.

"_Professor Solus may require immediate access to samples given the sheer number of unknowns,"_ Valern explained. _"While he may operate from another ship, having him onboard the _Normandy_ would allow quicker development."_

"_Is this really necessary?"_ Sparatus asked. _"The _Normandy_ is a warship, not a science vessel. There are better ships for conducting research."_

"_Perhaps,"_ Tevos said, _"but I'm sure Councilor Valern's concerns have their merits._" The asari turned to look at Williams. _"Commander, ask your superiors if they would be willing to have a lab retrofitted on board."_

Etel watched her counterpart's reaction before she finally nodded. "I will, but I will make no promises."

_Williams is real keen on not giving the Council more than the Alliance already has, isn't she?_ Etel noted as the debriefing continued.

"_Very well,"_ Tevos said as she gave Valern a brief glance. _"However, while your mission is still the pursuit of Saren, recruiting Doctor Solus is critical."_

"We will talk to him," Nihlus said firmly. "I need to make a stop in Citadel space regardless for a supply pickup, so we can do so at Sur'Kesh and talk to him as well."

"_Before this debriefing ends,"_ Sparatus said, _"are you certain that keeping Doctor T'Soni aboard is wise? We do not know why her mother joined Saren's forces."_

"No," Nihlus admitted, "but from what we intercepted during the mission it is clear that she is not working for Saren. It may be safer elsewhere, but at least on the _Normandy_ she is a moving target rather than a static one. In addition, Benezia sought her expertise on the protheans. She may be of use in tracking down what Saren is after."

"_Very well,"_ Sparatus said, _"but do not let your guard down. This mission cannot afford to be compromised."_

"Of course," Nihlus answered.

"_We'll await your next report once you have talked to Doctor Solus,"_ Valern said and the Council disconnected.

"That went well," Etel said as she folded her arms. "Still, what did this Doctor Solus do that has Councilor Valern so uneasy?"

Nihlus shrugged. "I'll probably find out when he forwards the dossier. But for now, we need to set course for Sur'Kesh. You two are on your own time now."

The two nodded and turned to leave, but as they reached the end of the briefing room Nihlus had one more thing to say. "Also, you two did well down there today."

"Thank you," Etel answered.

XXXXXXXXX

"Sur'Kesh?" Anderson asked. Ashley nodded as the two were standing in the mess hall next to the table. The mess was empty at the moment - Kaidan, T'Soni, and Shepard were all still in the medbay, most of the crew were either on duty or had gone to get rack time, and the ground team was taking their armor off below.

"Picking up supplies - probably the ammo kits - and recruiting a salarian scientist," Ashley explained. "Sir, I really have a bad feeling about this."

"I understand," Anderson said with a nod. "But by the sounds of it, you may just be getting this scientist to help out, he may not take residence on the _Normandy_."

"Still, I don't think we want too many more foreign nationals on the ship, I'm worried that the Alliance's new advance into warfare is going to get turned into an open secret." Ashley had no interest in being able to look bad in old age - if she made it that far - and regret allowing the _Normandy_'s tech to spread farther than it had to.

"For better or worse, this ship is ideally suited for the task at hand." Anderson said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Still, we could probably make some room for the salarian in the back of the medbay. They never figured out exactly what they wanted to do with that room."

"It's still a security risk," Ashley pointed out.

"We will need allies, Williams," Anderson said as he gestured for her to sit down. She took a seat at the end of the table and Anderson sat across from her. "And this may be the best chance to get them. Remember, a big part of this Spectre gig is so that people in the galaxy look at the Alliance as a power worth siding with. And if you want to get dirty and cynical, to get the Council to stop supporting the Empire and aid the Alliance instead if the hammer falls."

"I know," Ashley said, "and I'm not against us getting allies, but it's a little hard to call the Council allies when they seem to be treating Alliance vessels as if they owned them. Especially asking us to bring aboard foreign nationals whose last head of state had publicly declared intent to conquer us."

"You get along with Shepard well enough," the N7 Captain retorted as he leaned back in the chair. "Or at the very least you two aren't killing each other."

"I can shut up and work with people outside the Alliance," she answered defensively, "but at the same time humanity - the Alliance - needs to be able to stand on its own. We can't depend on the goodwill of other nations - other species, even - to survive. If we have to go to the Council for everything, we might as well just let the Empire take over."

Anderson nodded. "Maybe. But there are Alliance officers on Imperial ships as well. You remember Lee Riley, correct?"

"Miss Demolisher herself?" Ashley asked as she raised an eyebrow. Lee Riley was an N7 combat engineer whose actions had coined the term 'Demolisher' in the Alliance's military playbook with ludicrous amounts of grenades. Ashley had worked under her command during a series of missions against a pirate group that had been raiding shipping lanes between Shanxi and Arcturus. And while not exactly one of Anderson's students, Riley had worked under Anderson's command before while Ashley was undergoing the second course of Interplanetary Combatives Training on Venus. As far as Ashley knew, the two had kept some contact but were not close friends.

"The same," Anderson answered. "It turns out she was another of the candidates. She's on an Imperial ship, a frigate from another of those knight orders - the Templars, I believe."

"Is it an experimental one like the _Normandy_, or is it one of those old ones like the one that helped the ground forces at New Syracusae?" Ashley asked as she pointedly folded her arms.

Anderson shrugged, silently admitting defeat. "True enough. But the Alliance is not the only ones having to give others access."

"We're just giving them a chance to look around one of our most advanced warships that carries top-of-the-line tech that even the salarians haven't fully built yet."

"Still," Anderson said as he leaned forward. "The turians helped with this project and we were surprised when they let the Alliance keep it. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise the Council does want to get some use out of it as well. But the benefits we get from doing this just may outweigh whatever tech advantage we lose from letting others on board. This is a chance to learn how our neighbors operate and see what works for them and what explodes in their faces. And we show that the Alliance is worth treating like an ally."

"Maybe," Ashley admitted, "but I'd feel more comfortable about it if you were at least in on that debriefing with the Council. I mean, it's your command."

He nodded. "And you did a good job trying to keep it my command. I'll have an answer for Nihlus about this Mordin Solus by the time we arrive at Sur'Kesh. You're right, we shouldn't allow foreign nationals total free reign, but at the same time this is the chance to learn from them. The Council? They've been out there since the most advanced weapons on Earth were catapults, and the Empire was part of the galactic community when Napoleon was just a mere captain. If we don't learn from them, we'll never catch up. We may have to give some bits along the way, but in the end we need the Council's help to some degree so we can take off the training wheels. But that doesn't mean we'll stay there forever."

Ashley paused, surprised at the rebuttal and how it had struck her. "Huh. Never thought of it that way - all big picture." She shrugged. "Still, I'd rather not give up anything more than we have to, at least until the Alliance's position is more stable."

"Fair enough," Anderson said with a faint shrug. "But do well here and even if you aren't made a Spectre, it will still go quite far in helping get the Alliance to that stable position." He pushed himself out of his seat. "Now then, you should go talk to Chakwas and take the armor off."

Ashley glanced down at the blood stained armor she was still wearing, stood, and saluted. "Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXX

"All in all," Chakwas finally said, "I'm going to issue you some medicine to help you with getting rid of the static. Be sure to discharge before handling anything flammable."

"Thank you, Doctor," Etel said as she sat on the medical gurney and took the pill. Chakwas nodded and walked back to her console in the medbay. Alenko was lying on the gurney next to her, having taken painkillers for his headaches and was instructed to rest for a while. T'Soni, meanwhile, had gone into the spare room behind the medbay to catch up on recent events and because she wanted some time alone.

"So," Etel asked after she finished swallowing the medicine. "You okay, Lieutenant?"

"Hmmm?" Alenko said as he glanced to her. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just overused my biotics, that's all. Worse than Eden Prime, but that was because of the barrier."

"Weird," Etel said with a frown, "I probably used as much as you did but other than a mild headache I'm mostly okay."

"I probably need to get a better amp," the Alliance biotic said with a faint shrug as he pushed himself up against the wall. "I never really bothered with requisitioning an upgrade since my usage was rather rare. I was more focused on medical and omni-tool upgrades."

"Why?" Etel asked with a frown. "I mean, biotics are a gift and a responsibility, you should be using them to their full potential."

He smirked. "So they are, but there's a reason for not using the biotics."

"Why?"

"My biotic training back in 2168."

Etel frowned. There had been disturbing rumors about the Alliance's early biotic programs, but the only real concrete information began shortly before the Alliance released the L3 series of implants and their modern military biotic programs… in 2170.

"I was trained back in 2171," Etel said as she did a quick mental translation of the time scales. "About the time my biotic abilities fully manifested. Got an S9n Implant and was sent to Nod for training."

"I take it the Empire got past biotics being witchcraft quickly, huh?"

"There was some accusations along that line, but by the time there were human," she paused, "Sorry, Imperial biotics, the Empire was spacefaring. Why?"

"Well, there's a few crazies back on Earth insisting that biotics aren't natural, but most people just think we can read minds or something silly like that."

Etel scoffed. "Well, I'm sure they'll learn. Eventually."

"Hopefully," Alenko said. "Humans are naturally afraid of anything that's new and makes the old order seem irrelevant. Literal superpowers pretty much breaks most people's expectations. With some time though, people should come to stop fearing biotics." He paused a moment to let the implication hang in the air before moving on. "So, what's the Empire's biotic program like?"

"Monastic," Etel answered. "A lot of time is spent on discipline and self-control. Even in a state of anger, we have to have conscious control over our abilities. A normal man gets angry, he can break a window or knock someone out for a few hours. A biotic can kill with one misplaced kick." Alenko shifted uncomfortably for some reason at the mention of the kick, glancing around the medbay.

"Makes sense to emphasize self-control, but monastic?" he asked, tilting his head as he looked at her.

"Of course." Etel answered as she remembered the long hours spent honing the mind, in quiet solitude in cells normally used for confessionals. "The Empire's biotic program is not just learning how to use our powers but learning about power itself and who we, the individuals who wield power, are. God's word, no matter what some think of it, is a powerful way to keep hope when learning to control biotic power. It takes time, and there's a lot of mistakes. Some students just want to give up, but they can't because of the danger that uncontrolled biotics posed."

The Alliance biotic nodded. "So they have to stay until they have their abilities under control and can consciously avoid using them. How long does it take?"

"As long as it is necessary to finish the training," she answered. "Some students take longer than others. Despite the high demands of training, though, living there isn't so bad. A little lacking socially since most outside contact is through e-mails and the occasional family visit, but spiritually those who seek to study theology learn much and there are some who stayed there to continue their studies and help train the next generations of Imperial biotics. And for those looking more mundane training, it also offers access to at the very least the basics of a lot of tradeskills."

"Interesting," Alenko said as he glanced towards the door briefly. "So, they focus a lot on control, but how do you actually train in biotic usage?"

"The Solomon Monastery on the outside looks old - it was repurposed from the structure the original Knights Templar created after being brought to Nod - but the inside has a fully functional and rather technologically advanced training room and it had plenty of training mechs for those who were going to go military like I was. We called it the 'Scrap Room' due to amount of scrap after someone got too... excited."

"They don't send biotics elsewhere for that?" Alenko asked with a frown. "Seems an awful lot to put one just one facility. Especially since I'm certain there's biotics in the Empire who don't want to become soldiers."

"Not all of them do, but biotics are a powerful force. We would not have them if God did not intend us to use them, so a lot of biotics join the military in some form." She smiled faintly. "Biotics was a big decider for me when choosing to become a Knight. Military biotics is actually an expansion of the basic training, but even the mandated learning has basic self defense included. Mostly basic telekinetics like pulls and throws with the dummy mechs."

"Makes sense," Alenko nodded briefly. "Lets the students get some practice in keeping control under pressure and allows them to vent some of that pent up energy from meditating all the time trying to get that control."

She paused, lip curling as she realized that Alenko had actually hit a motive behind that she had never expected. "It is," she said. "though I don't think it began as a way to do that. Out of curiosity, how does the Alliance handle military biotics? I graduated from the Aegis Champion discipline."

"The Ascension Project handles it these days, mostly the same from the sounds of it but a lot less monastic and more just trying to find both the on and off switches," he answered. "It's all technically a military program - civilian research didn't end very well, though any biotic that joins the military has to undergo one of three programs. They were code named Sentinel, Vanguard, and Adept, corresponding to engineering, standard soldiers plus biotics, and full biotic training. They were never supposed to have any significance besides obscuring it from prying eyes, but after their success the public kept using the names so they became the _de facto_ terms for the regimens."

"Aegis Champion and Black Monk were similar," Etel answered, "though they were more formal project names. I graduated from the former; so probably a bit like the Vanguard program the Alliance uses?"

"Sounds about right," Alenko said with a nod. "I probably could of gone through with the Adept program, but I didn't really want to use biotics after my first round of training."

"Why?" she asked, hoping to finally get around to the matter. "You're abilities are impressive; if I had just met you off the street I would have guessed you were one of the Alliance's stronger biotics."

He scoffed briefly and shook his head. "It was the first program - all the files are classified, but it was called Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training." He shifted uncomfortably before continuing. "To make a long story short and non-classified: it ended badly and the Systems Alliance took over biotic training directly a few years later and produced our modern programs."

Etel raised an eyebrow, surprised at how secretive the project was as she had seen Alenko as being one who would be rather open about matters like this. _Better not press the issue,_ she decided as she nodded. "Fair enough. Being the first one up the ladder in something new is usually fraught with difficulty. After all, that's why this bucket of bolts is just a single model rather than a huge number of them." She knocked on the wall briefly and Alenko smirked.

"Yeah, being first up the ladder is never fun. Especially when you run right into a wall of pikemen waiting for whoever gets past the first gate."

"Well, that's what kinetic barriers are for these days," she answered with a shrug. "And in our cases, we can shield ourselves even better with biotics. So what did your training focus on? Mine was mostly around combatative biotics - telekinetics, warping armor, that sort of thing."

"Mostly support biotics in my case like telekinetics. I did do some work with stasis fields, but I haven't practiced with those in so long that I'm actually not sure if I can even do it anymore."

She smirked. "Well I never spent much time with that either, but maybe you can get our new asari friend to show you a few things."

"Maybe," Kaidan said with a shrug.

"Though, given how much biotic power you have, do you ever think about going back and undergoing another program?"

"Before Eden Prime? Not at all. Now?" He simply shrugged silently. "I mean, I'm good where I am right now, but 'what if' is an agonizingly consistent question when you look back." He reached for the back of his neck, "Though, given my L2, I think it's safer to stick with staying in general support rather than trying to go full biotic mastery at some point."

"What happened with L2 implants anyways?" Etel asked, "I know they caused side effects, but I never really understood the science behind them."

Doctor Chakwas turned to say something but stopped as Alenko gave her a brief look before turning back to Etel. "It's mostly to do with the feedback so we know what we're doing. See, when they were made the Alliance was still learning exactly how eezo interfaced with the human body, so mistakes happened. The L2 tried to provide a lot of power and control right out of the gate, but you can't do that without also increasing the feedback."

She nodded as she reached back to where her biotic amp was. "Yeah, you're supposed to leave most of the power juicing to the amp itself, not the implant. Of course, a good implant can take what a bio-amp does and make it even more effective. A bad one, and you need a really good amp to get the most out of your power."

"Well, L2 implants put out a lot of power compared to the L3, but the L3 series is far safer." He shook his head. "I'm a lucky L2, and my headaches can be pretty bad even with the medicine Doctor Chakwas provides. Others have it worse; they can't even sneeze without triggering biotics and all the resulting side effects."

"And yet the reparations are still dancing around Parliament," Chakwas commented as she shook her head.

"Why _is_ it taking so long to get figured out anyways?" Etel asked with a frown. "I mean, it seems like it should be a cut and dry matter."

"A question of where to put funds," Alenko said as he shook his head. "There's a lot of other things that need money too. Education, emergency services, the military, civil maintenance for public transport, all sorts of things. Adding more money to it either means nations on Earth need to pay more dues and colonies more taxes, or it has to come from somewhere else."

"And people never understand the values of taxes," Etel said with a slow nod. "Of course, you can't tax too hard either, people still need to cover expenses and the economy requires money to be changing hands."

"Well people like having money, so can you blame them?" Alenko retorted with a faint smirk.

"Yes, they do," she answered with a faint chuckle.

Chakwas stood and walked over, nodding to Alenko. "You're cleared to go, Lieutenant. Though, leave most of the piloting to Joker."

"I will," Alenko said as he pushed himself up. "Co-pilot shift that I'm already late for waiting for the doc to say I'm good," he added as Etel frowned.

Etel nodded simply.

XXXXXXXXX

"So Shepard's having visions, huh?" Joker asked as Ashley walked into the cockpit in crew fatigues.

"Where did you hear that?" Ashley asked as she folded her arms as Kaidan walked by her and took his station in the co-pilot's seat.

"I keep an eye on the debriefings unless Anderson directly tells me not to listen. Mostly so I can prepare routes and the like faster," the pilot explained with a faint smirk. "Looks better to actually have plans prepared."

"Uh huh," she said as she rolled her eyes before lowering her voice. "But yes, she is. And keep it quiet."

"No problem," Joker said. "Still, we had to pick up a freaking Jedi…"

"You're never going to let that one go, are you?" Kaidan asked as he looked over the controls between them.

"Not at all. I mean, she's a knight with a glowing omni-blade, biotics as the Force, she brought Tali on board, and now visions?" Joker shook his head. "Next thing you know she's going to be destined to bring balance to humanity or stop some apocalypse of the month."

"She still isn't going to get the reference," Ashley warned. "I barely caught it."

"Should get my copies from home," Joker admitted. "Then we can show her during downtime. Tali too."

Kaidan chuckled. "Oh that'll be fun. Just need to remind them that this was made when eezo wasn't even known and when getting into Earth's orbit was a big achievement."

Ashley rolled her eyes and shook her head. She turned to leave and noticed both Etel and their new asari recruit coming up.

"Doctor T'Soni?" Ashley asked in surprise. "What are you doing up here?"

"I'm feeling better and Sir Shepard suggested asking you for the tour," the asari answered somewhat meekly.

"Could've called," Ashley pointed out as she looked at Shepard.

"Yes, but I figured that since you were up here anyways I might as well. I already told her about staying out of the drive core."

Ashley nodded. "Good, that's the big thing. Otherwise, try to limit how often you have to come in here." She gestured to the airlock. "This and the briefing room are the only reason the CIC isn't off limits. All else fails though, just don't poke around anything and if a crewmember tells you not to go somewhere, trust them and if you still have questions ask me or Captain Anderson."

T'Soni nodded. "I understand." She paused, tilting her head as she looked out the _Normandy_'s cockpit. "Is that Aremni that we're passing by?"

"Looks like," Joker said as he glanced at a smaller holoscreen that popped up. "A literal death world. 'cause, ya'know, everyone there's dead."

"That sounds like a story," Ashley noted as she walked up to get a better view, Shepard and T'Soni following as the three looked out the window.

"It is," T'Soni explained as she gestured at the planet's rocky dull green surface. "The entire equator of the planet is covered with gravesites and crypts. All we know is that an ancient species, the zeioph, lived here."

"There's no Alliance signatures on the planet, by the way," Joker added as he minimized a screen. "In fact the only thing Alliance nearby is us and what's left of an automated sentry satellite."

"You'd think there'd be archeologists all over it," Kaidan commented.

"The Alliance did want to study it, dozens of universities wanting to go there and start examining the crypts. The Council told them they were forbidden from doing so." T'Soni explained.

"Wait a second hold on," Kaidan said as he looked over. "The Council said no to archeologists? I can understand telling the mining companies to back off, but archeologists?"

"Graves are sacrosanct," Shepard explained.

T'Soni nodded. "Exactly. The entire matter has been tied up in the courts for a decade now. Still, it is something of a shame. These graves are the last vestiges of an entire species, just as ruins are all that remains of the protheans."

"Speaking of the protheans," Kaidan commented, "all this stuff we've been doing, finding ancient prothean tech and diving into ruins, it makes you wonder. What will happen fifty thousand years from now when people are digging up our ruins? When they're finding our artifacts and graves."

"They won't have to think," Ashley retorted with a smirk. "Because we'll be right there to tell them exactly what they are."

"I'm certain the protheans believed the same thing," T'Soni commented as she shook her head. "It's quite possible that one day all that will remain of humanity is their graves, and the only way to learn about humanity would be to look at those."

Ashley shifted uncomfortably at the idea of someone digging up her grave. Shepard did as well before speaking. "Well," the knight said, "I can certainly sympathize with wanting to learn about those who came before. I'm just not sure being dug up from my grave is how I'd want someone to learn about humanity, though."

"Agreed," Ashley said with a nod. "Or put in some museum like a dinosaur or a mummy." That idea did not sit well with her at all. Being dug up briefly so archeologists could get an idea of what humanity was before putting her back into the grave to rest, she could understand. Being put on display? Somehow, those exhibits she used to see as a kid growing up suddenly seemed a lot less benign.

"Surely there's non-invasive ways to go about it," Kaidan commented as the planet passed by and out of their view. "I mean, this is the 22nd century, we've been detecting things underground with various sensors for centuries. Probably doing it for millennia in the case of the Citadel."

"There are, but archaeologically speaking there's nothing better than an actual sample," T'Soni explained. "Scans can be wrong, after all, but its impossible to disprove the genuine article."

"Well, on that cheerful note as soon as we're past this last asteroid belt we'll be good for FTL," Joker said as he checked a miniature display showing the system they were in.

"What about Johnson?" Ashley asked.

"Johnson made it?" T'Soni asked in relief, "Thank the Goddess, I was worried when he left to find help."

"Yes, but he was paralyzed by those small bugs the Collectors used," Shepard explained.

"Don't worry, we transferred him to a medical frigate," Joker explained. "Did it while you guys were talking to the Council and the rest of you were taking your armor off."

T'Soni nodded. "At least someone survived. What about the others?"

"You remember that monster that attacked us?" Ashley said uneasily as she remembered the thing opening its front carapace to reveal the humans inside. T'Soni's eyes went wide as she figured out what she meant.

XXXX

**The Next Morning**

**Normandy Cafeteria**

**06:00 AM (Ship time)**

"Good morning, captain," Etel said, watching Captain Anderson emerge from his quarters. Anderson muttered something that sounded like 'you too'. Though with the limited amount his mouth moved, Etel could not be sure. Anderson walked over to the counter and filled himself a cup of coffee, taking a good sip of it, before walking to the table.

"Yeah, good morning," he said much more clearly, shaking his head slightly.

"No morning without the daily dose of caffeine addiction?" Etel smirked, raising her own cup.

"Pretty much. Though I have never seen coffee that... green?" Anderson said, looking over Etel's brew uncertainly.

"Frailian tea. The Empire had a small... shall we say, debate, whenever or not it should be classified as an addictive drug or not. On one hand, the bad effects of it are so small they might as well not be there, but on the other hand, it gives you energy." As she finished Etel noticed that Anderson had a weird expression on his face. "Something wrong, sir?"

"Not really. Just noticing how, despite however many lightyears and ten centuries of difference... some things never change," he said, smiling at the thought. "The same thing pretty much happened with coffee."

"How? I mean, I thought your world was, or at least is, fractured into dozens of nation states?" Etel asked.

"Let's just say that back then the Catholic Church had a lot more power and leave it at that," Anderson answered. Etel decided to take the hint and did not press further. "So, how does it actually taste?"

"Slightly sweet, though with a bitter aftertaste. Most people drink it with some distril, a spice from Dinalin. It helps to deal with the aftertaste, though I learned to drink it without spices during my time with the Hospitallers," Etel explained, before nodding towards Andersons mug. "How's yours?"

"Well, it's bitter, that's all I can say. More bitter the better I say, but some people prefer to sweeten it with some milk, cream or sugar," something seemed to occur to Anderson at that moment. "Wait... we didn't have any Imperial beverages onboard the ship."

"No, you didn't. I picked some up at New Syracusae, there was a couple was selling the seeds used to make it so they could help fund the reconstruction," she explained. "Their crops would have gone bad anyway from the artillery, so why not? I am pretty sure I made a request to you after we brought Tali on board."

"Never saw one," the captain shook his head. "Who did you file it to?"

"I was unsure of the protocol onboard Alliance vessel, so I asked one of the crew members and gave her the information. She said she would take care of it. A few hours I got a message that it had been cleared and they had picked it up before we took off."

"Hmm… I need to check, but I think it might have gone to our cook, not to me. He is the one in charge of our provisions, so it would fall under his jurisdiction."

"Huh," Etel said in dull surprise. "On Imperial ships, captains are usually aware of everything that happens onboard the ship. Most of them just stamp an approval on the suggestions and such, palming things to people with better knowledge, but some captains I know prefer to have a say in everything even if it's just knowing what the requests are."

"Not with me. My job is to command the ship, not to micromanage it. I just need to know how long we our food stores will last, not what food we have except if it's dextro based," Anderson explained, waving his hand. "So what other differences have you found compared to Imperial vessels?"

"Well, honestly... not that much, the CIC is different. The helm design is interesting as well. On Imperial ships most pilots and captains don't want anyone else to be able to visit the helm. Especially the pilots."

"This is a small frigate, no point in trying to create artificial barriers to the crew," Anderson pointed out. Etel merely shrugged.

"Not my problem really. I was always more of a ground pounder. Never spent more time on ships than necessary."

"So what's it like, actually being a knight?"

"Depends on the Order, really. Me, I just flew from one hotspot to another. Slavers here and there, beat the living daylights of them and drop what's still breathing to the authorities. Then help the captives, at least those you can," Etel gripped her mug slightly harder. "Though there were too few we could help, really..." Anderson nodded at her explanation.

"Sounds like a hard calling, really," he said with sympathy.

"At least I can help some. Better we save even one than let that one be taken away," Etel shook her head. "So, from elephant to football as the saying goes, how are the captains of a ship treated in Alliance?"

"Well, we are commissioned officers. It's not that different from normal command structure," Anderson said. "Civilian captains have their own dealings, some of them are respected, others... not so much."

"So commanding a ship is just a thing among many?"

"Well, not really. This is a command, after all. To be given a command of a ship shows that you are trusted. Think it like a fief, except more of a... temporal, rather than permanent," Anderson said. Etel thought about it for a moment, before nodding at the analogy.

"Anyway," Anderson continued, "I've got whole slew of paperwork and other things to do, so I should get to it," he said as he rose and downed the last of his coffee. "It was nice chatting with you. Haven't really had a chance until now."

"The pleasure was all mine, sir," Etel said, giving a small bow as Anderson walked to fill his mug again and left for his quarters.

XXXX

"Hey Tali, what are you doing?" Ashley asked as she stepped into the mess hall. Tali was doing something with her omni-tool, while Shepard watched from the side, drinking something green.

"Trying to tune to NNC for the news," she said. "Hopefully I can hear them before we enter FTL and we're cut off," she finished tapping into her omni-tool and a short music interlude played out.

"_That concludes our interview with Patrician al-Habab over possible colonization of the Heracles system and now, onto the foreign news," _a male voice said._ "Jasmine, what do you have for me?"_

"_Well Gregory, the latest and hottest news currently is the failed attack on the Systems Alliance colony of Therum,"_ a female voice answered. Ashley sat next to Tali, while Shepard leaned forward to watch the footage._ "The geth and their Collector confederates were caught off-guard by the Alliance warship _Normandy_. Following the quick destruction of the geth ship, the _Normandy_ deployed its ground team to dispatch the remaining enemies."_

"_It is confirmed that esteemed Sir Etel of House Shepard, a knight of the Order of Knight Hospitallers and a Spectre candidate, was among the team deployed. Sir Shepard is currently being evaluated alongside her Alliance counterpart, Ashley Williams, by Spectre Nihlus Kryik,"_ the man, Gregory, continued.

"_We managed to gain this statement from the Grandmaster of Hospitallers regarding Sir Etel and her actions on an Alliance colony," _Jasmine said before there was a background noise, as if they were in middle of a street. A rugged male voice spoke next.

"_We Knight Hospitallers care little for the borders, for where the is injustice, we will be there. Sir Shepard clearly understands this and does not let such petty disagreements prevent her from fighting evil wherever it raises its ugly head."_

"Grandmaster Hofstadter always had a flair for theatrics," Shepard said with a faint smirk before Ashley could ask. "He did admit that he would love to take up theater, but his duties don't give him time to do so."

"_That was Grandmaster Cyril von Hofstadter,"_ Jasmine continued on the news. _"Spectre Kryik and his candidates were responsible for exposing Saren Arterius' crimes to the Citadel Council after a failed trial two days after the attack on Eden Prime and insiders on the Citadel report that they are tasked with bringing down the renegade Spectre."_

"_Furthermore, these two Spectres candidates have been gaining popularity among the public, after their heroic defenses of Eden Prime and New Syracusae. This has been capitalized by a leaked video of the two engaging a geth walker..."_

"_Prepare for FTL jump in five seconds," _Joker interrupted. The transmission cut off as the ship accelerated beyond the speed of light in normal space.

"What leaked video?" Shepard asked in surprise as Tali deactivated her omni-tool.

"_Oh you should see it," _Joker answered over the intercom. _"I have the video page still in the cache, come up here and I can show it to you."_

Ashley and Shepard looked over each, nodded and walked upstairs and over to the helm while Tali stayed in the mess hall to finish her food.

Once in the cockpit, they found that Joker was already grinning at them and brought up a tab with the video on his holodisplay. On the corner of the screen, the video file was titled "_Spectre Sisters kick ass and take names_".

"Spectre Sisters?" Ashley asked incredulously. "What moron came up with that?"

"Probably the guy who put the video up," Joker answered as he started the video.

"_Destroyer!"_ Ashley shouted in the video as the large geth platform with a flamethrower vaulted into the trench they were fighting from. Shepard knocked the flamethrower itself out of the way, a jet of fire shooting into the air as Ashley hit the geth with a shotgun blast and kicked its leg out from under it. As the platform landed on its back and mud splashed in every direction, Shepard glowed blue with biotic energy as she impaled it through the chest with her omni-blade and punched all the way through to the fuel tank. Shepard pulled it out as two more geth troopers stormed inside further back. Ashley and Shepard turned and fired one shotgun blast each, taking out the geth ahead and Ashley moved forward into that gap in the line of defense as the video ended.

"Not pictured," Shepard added sourly, "the Destroyer's fuel tank exploding and burning my tabard."

"Wait, who put this up?" Ashley asked, looking at the username, 'gunnerAwesome'. "Wait, weren't we covering one of..."

"Yes," Shepard cut in, "one of the Duchess' soldiers probably put it up. Most likely the machine gunners we covered."

"You should see the comments," Joker added as he scrolled down. "Good thing I got the entire page in the cache and not just the video," he began to list out the top comments.

"'_Meatbags one, synthetics zero_'," he began as he read down the list. "'_God comes through again_'; '_silly Imp, melee is for barbarians_'; '_humanity, fuck yeah_'; '_I still think Council set this up_'," he paused for a moment. "And that one is followed by 40 pages of arguments that stops being about the video at the second page and just veers into Extranet Standard Issue Stupidity. Let's see what else... oh, this was my favorite: '_I would let them tag team me anytime_'," Joker said with a grin, while Ashley shook her head and Shepard's gaze tightened towards Joker.

"I never read comments, on anything," Shepard said and marched off with more force than she usually had. Ashley wondered if she had been offended, but decided to let her go.

"What got into her?" Joker asked in confusion.

"Oh, I dunno," Ashley said as she rolled her eyes and put as much sarcasm into her voice as she could, "maybe a certain innuendo that you liked?"

Joker opened his mouth briefly before minimizing the tab again.

XXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

**Engineering Bay**

"What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Richard Jenkins said as he held up the M-7 Lancer he was mounting on his firing rig, looking up at Garrus as the turian walked over. "Just a little experiment. Commander Williams has been helping me with the internals, at least when she has time to spare."

"What kind of mod?" the turian asked as he looked at the setup.

"High explosive rounds."

The turian paused, tilting his head curiously. "Odd choice for an assault rifle, Jenkins. Why not a sniper rifle; you more or less get a rocket launcher out of that."

"I'm not really doing this to use it in a battle," Richard answered as he finished strapping it down and checked the heat sink. "More of a personal thing. Call it me touching my inner geek."

The turian scoffed. "You aren't one of those twits who go to conventions in costume, are you?"

"Nah," he said, "though if I get this baby working it'll be damn tempting to do it."

"What's it supposed to be anyways? A rifle firing explosive rounds seems a little… odd. Like, really soft science fiction."

"Now that'd be telling," Richard said as he smirked at the turian. "Though you probably never heard of it. Now then," he added as he finished setting it up and stood, "you might want to step back, I'm going to give it a try."

The turian shrugged and walked away, pointedly taking cover behind the Mako as Richard moved back and checked the long string he had attached to the trigger. "Okay, everyone clear?"

"Just you and me," Garrus answered.

Richard nodded. "Okay Buster," he said as he looked at the combat dummy, "Let's see if this myth busts…"

He pulled on the string and the rifle fired, sending a single explosive round down and into the dummy. As the dummy exploded, the rifle started beeping and locked out. Richard released the string and the trigger snapped back to the normal position and the rifle went silent, heat visibly dispersing from the vents.

Garrus poked his head out from behind the IFV. "Looks like you didn't blow yourself up this time," he commented.

"I still wore the armor," Richard insisted defensively as he walked up closer and rubbed the arm guards of his hardsuit awkwardly.

"Still," the turian said as he walked towards it as Richard began to unlock the rifle, "This might be rather useful if you can get it to work. If Saren has krogan, explosive weapons would be perfect for dealing with them. Especially since we have no missile launchers right now."

"Yeah, not going to be ready by then," he retorted as he had to wave a hand in front of his face to get the fumes clear. "Damn it, the heat sink's completely melted again."

"I thought humans weren't gun nuts," Garrus said as he stood behind him and looked at the rifle. "I mean, this is the kind of thing I expect turians or krogan to do."

"Hey, I do other things," Richard insisted as he scowled. "I watch movies and occasionally read novels like other people! And yeah, gaming too..."

"What kind of gaming?"

"Mostly computer or console based; never really had time for tabletop between school and farm chores. Occasionally cracked out the real old games too." Richard sighed as he put his pet project on the workbench and shook his head. "Damn it, thing's completely messed up…"

"I'm sure you'll get it to work eventually. The problem might be the heat sink, though." Garrus elaborated as he pointed a talon towards it. "Lancers weren't built for high capacity heat like sniper rifles tend to use. Assault rifles use less heat per shot since their mass rounds are usually smaller."

"Yeah," he said as he grabbed a sign that read _Caution - Hot_, putting the rifle behind it. "But a sniper rifle doesn't really fit what I'm trying to make."

"Fair enough," the turian said with a shrug. "So what games?"

"Not much; the usual roulette. N7 Code of Honor series when me and some of the other guys just want to have some mindless killing, Warfront when we want to be a little more tactical, and sometimes we cracked out the real old games. Like, the stuff when human gaming was still getting into 3D. Those were always fun even if it lacked all the modern bells and whistles."

Garrus nodded, "All the new tech is great, but sometimes you just need to see what people used to have to appreciate what you have now."

"Exactly, what we consider bad graphics today would completely shatter any old game from a century ago," Richard said as he began to start unlocking his hardsuit so he could get out of it since his testing was done.

"I don't suppose you happened to have a gaming rig, do you?"

"Here? Nah," he gestured to the lockers. "Only get one foot locker and all the wires needed for any decent system are a bit too much. So it's omni-tool stuff. Though if we get out of this alive, let's trade gamertags; maybe we can go head to head at some point."

The turian chuckled and offered a hand. "You're on, Jenkins. Just don't complain too much when you don't see me sniping you."

Richard smirked and shook. "Camper."

"It's a legitimate strategy," the turian shamelessly said as the lift opened and both Wrex and Tali walked in.

"Hey, you two talking about something?" Tali asked.

"Not much," Richard answered with a shrug. "Gaming, that sort of thing. Not sure…"

"Hey, you're talking to an engineer. Gaming's basically a standard issue pastime," Tali retorted and Richard found himself wishing he could see the quarian's facial expressions.

"Well, you want to extend the bet?" Garrus asked as he turned his head.

"Um… yeah," Richard finally said. "So what about you, Wrex? You ever try it?"

The scarred krogan shook his head. "No, and I never saw the appeal of them. I mean, the only thing you get out of it is time passed and maybe, _maybe_, some theory, but never enough that actually doing something would give you more of."

"So what, krogan don't play videogames and when they want to do a first person shooter they grab the paintball guns?" Richard asked.

"Hah!" Wrex barked out as he walked towards him and gave him a slight nudge to get out of the way. Richard moved to the side as Wrex accessed his locker. "No, young krogan play games like Tackle the Varren or they engage in beginner level martial arts. When they're older, they take shots at pyjaks that try to sneak into our food stores with old guns not good enough for a full warrior. And occasionally each other." The krogan paused as he pulled out his oversized shotgun.

"Something wrong?" Richard asked as he had to consciously avoid commenting that Wrex's shotgun looked like someone had put a trigger on a brick. Tali had leaned against the range barrier that he had set up earlier and Garrus was still where he was.

"Just remembering the good old days," the old krogan answered. "Of being young, not knowing any better. The older you get, the more you realize what a moron you used to be."

"Oh, I'm sure we all have stories to tell," Tali said as she looked between them. "Come on, we were all young once."

"Still are in some cases," Richard pointed out as he walked by the range barrier. "Ah, I should probably take this down, unless you want to use it?"

"No need," the old battlemaster answered, "I've been keeping weapons good longer than humans have been beyond Earth."

"Wait, how old are you?" Garrus asked incredulously. "I mean, krogan live a long time but that was a thousand years ago!"

"Krogan live a _very_ long time," Wrex said with a smirk that showed his teeth. Teeth too numerous and sharp for comfort. "And we were once Tuchanka's prey species."

"Wait a second, _WHAT?!"_ Richard asked in shock. "You guys are _prey?!_ You're fucking tanks with legs, how on Earth are you guys prey?"

Wrex gave a long, hearty laugh. "Well, we didn't have the luxury of evolving on a nice place like Earth, Palaven, or Rannoch. When your predators spit acid and send entire tank platoons driving for the hills, you either evolve tough or not at all. But it's the eyes," Wrex said as he gestured to his own. "Wide set, to spot predators. Not all front like you lot have to see prey."

"I never expected a krogan to be so knowledgable about that biological quirk," Garrus commented thoughtfully as he tilted his head curiously while Richard found himself trying to get around the concept of what kind of hellhole would make a prey species as tough as the krogan.

"There's a lot you don't know about the krogan," the battlemaster harshly snarled at the turian before he turned back to his maintenance. "The only reason I'm telling you this, though, is because we are likely to go against more of Saren's krogan forces."

XXXXXX

**Five Hours Later**

_**Normandy**_** Briefing Room**

**Sur'kesh Orbit**

Etel sat down and Nihlus gave her a brief nod. "Let's start this briefing, then," Nihlus said as he turned to the console. Captain Anderson as well as the ground team was there, but Liara had now joined them at Nihlus' insistence. Ashley, Alenko, and Jenkins had already put on light Alliance armor, the same fatigues they had worn on the Citadel, and Ashley had her assault rifle. Etel had her shotgun and had asked Tali for help in improving her omni-tool's integrated kinetic barrier system as there was no room for a proper generator in her tunic without vast changes to the outfit.

"This is Professor Mordin Solus," the turian Spectre explained as a dossier image appeared but most of the information was blacked out. "As a former member of the STG he was primarily part of their research division, but he did go into the field occasionally. Our goal is to recruit him in order to develop an antidote or some sort of countermeasure to the Collector's insects deployed on Therum as the biotic barrier tactic is not sufficient to deal with the threat. Whether Professor Solus remains on the _Normandy_ or transfers to another vessel will be up to him, but Councilor Valern has suggested that he do his research on the _Normandy_."

"What kind of research was this Solus involved in?" Wrex asked and Etel could not ignore an odd sense that this would be problematic.

"Classified," Nihlus answered firmly as he turned to the krogan. "Also, Wrex. I'm aware that this may be a sensitive issue for you. If you have anything you want to say, do it now."

The krogan in red armor nodded slowly. "We need a way to deal with those strange stunners the Collectors are deploying. We all know biotic barriers are not enough to keep them back and we damn well can't shoot them all in time and flamethrowers are too unwieldy," he looked towards Nihlus directly. "As long as this salarian doesn't do anything stupid like trying to dissect me, I've got no quarrel with him. Not with Saren and his augmented horde running around."

The briefing room fell silent as the entire team looked towards Wrex in surprise. Etel, and she was relatively sure others shared her feelings, expected to have to talk Wrex into allowing the salarian doctor on board. The room remained silent for another minute as the battlemaster's statement settled in.

"What about Professor Solus?" Williams asked to break the silence. "Will he have any problems being on the same ship as Wrex?"

"That remains to be seen but the dossier indicates that there should be no problems," Nihlus continued. "We won't be bringing the whole ground team down to Sur'Kesh, but I want to know who wants to go and who doesn't."

"I'll stay on board," Wrex said. "I've got no interest in the salarian homeworld and you don't need to get them antsy."

"Doctor Chakwas advised that I stay on board for a while longer," Liara said uncertainly as she looked around.

"I'd be good to come down," Garrus said as he adjusted himself. "Never been to Sur'Kesh before."

"Actually," the older turian said, "I want you to stay on the ship."

Etel frowned in confusion, as did everyone else save Anderson.

"Sir?" Garrus asked in surprise.

"I have Doctor Solus' location," Nihlus elaborated as he activated his omni-tool. Etel glanced down as hers received a message, as did Williams'. "However, I think it's time to see how our two candidates can track down individuals and what resources they bring to bear."

"Uh, Garrus is an ex C-Sec officer," Williams said as she stood up. "and he's part of the team. Wouldn't asking him for help be exactly what you're talking about?"

"Indeed it is," Nihlus said with a knowing nod. "And if you ever need to actually find something, then he would be a _very_ good choice. But I need to see what you two can do in the unknown without Garrus' help. Lieutenant Alenko will accompany you, but as to the two who haven't spoken…" he looked between Tali and Jenkins. "Pick one of them to support you."

"Better take Tali," Jenkins said immediately. "Unless we're going to punch our way past the STG, I probably won't be of much use."

"I'll help however I can," Tali said with a nod as Nihlus took a step back.

"Very well then," the turian Spectre said. "As soon as we land, find Professor Solus."

"What will you be doing?" Etel asked as she stared at the Spectre. While the idea was good - see how they could operate - was this the best time to do so? Every second that this Professor Solus spent working on the countermeasures would be critical.

"I'll be going for him directly. It pays to have connections in high places," he said as he tapped his omni-tool and the dossier linked to the main briefing screen faded. "I forwarded you and Williams a copy of a clean version of Mordin's dossier to use to track him down. Good luck." With a brief nod, Nihlus walked out of the briefing room.

"He isn't taking the Mako, is he?" Jenkins asked.

"No, he's leaving it here," Anderson explained. "And yes, I knew," he added as Williams gave him a glare. "He contacted the STG before we landed and got his own ride."

"We could just have Joker track him," Ashley suggested. "Or did Nihlus say that wasn't allowed?"

"_Ding ding ding, we have a winner!"_ Joker cut in over the intercom. _"Sorry commander, but it looks like you guys are on your own for this one."_

Etel sighed. "Well, we better get started."

"Er…" Liara said uncomfortably, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Something wrong, doctor?" Williams asked.

"Do human soldiers always go out so well armed?" the archeologist asked uneasily.

"Last time we went out with less armaments, we got attacked by Saren's goons," Etel answered with a shrug. "We're not taking chances, but if we thought we were going to be attacked we'd be in full armor."

"I see," she said with a shrug.

"You better get going," Anderson said. "Don't worry, we'll be here and getting ready in case Doctor Solus decides that this little game of cat and mouse is not worth waiting for."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

_\- Yes, they are going to have to find Mordin, and yes, Nihlus is testing them. Hey, it's his _job description_ to test them. After all, Spectres don't always have the advantage of having someone above them in the food chain giving them information. Sometimes they have to dig it up themselves. Of course, as noted, a friend like Garrus is a great help in that, but that would be too easy for this._

_\- This was also the first time we have a POV from Jenkins. As a general rule of thumb, we try to avoid having characters refer to themselves by their last names in their POV. After all, do you think of yourself by your last name, or by your first name but will answer to your last name in professional circumstances? So with Jenkins (or rather, Richard), we do the same thing that we're doing with Shepard: First name basis in his POV, while Ashley still uses last name basis with him most of the time as they are not as familiar with each other. Yet._

_\- While we are generally going to try and give everyone something to do, there will be times when some members of the team will sit one out. This can range from being injured (such as Jenkins and our guest star party member Jacob Taylor not being part of finding Saren's guilt on the Citadel), to just not coming along for whatever reason, such as the above. Not all missions will call for the full team, after all. However, as a general rule of thumb we will try to give everyone something to do in a mission, even if it means splitting up the party like it was done on Therum._

_\- Also, before someone asks: While we have used Adept, Vanguard, and Sentinel as terms that are roughly close to the game-mechanics "class" use as Alliance biotic programs, this is not intended to mean that they are hardcoded into the setting. So, Kaidan can still learn how to create biotic singularities or even perform a biotic charge (when it's invented) if he so chooses. But the standard training just did not focus on that. Do not expect Soldier, Engineer, or Infiltrator to show up in a similar manner. Soldiers will be the all-call term, Ashley is a soldier, so is Kaidan, so is Jenkins, so is Anderson, and Garrus used to be one before his mandatory time in the turian military was done. Engineers can range from Adams down in the drive core to Tali with her omni-tool hacking geth left and right and all the way back down to the poor schmucks who have to fix all the buildings and city streets our heroes wrecked in battle. And of course, infiltrator will be left with those who actually infiltrate, it will not automatically mean "Sniper with tech skills"._

_\- Thank you to Jozern, Talimancer, and scottusa1 for their reviews._

_\- This Codex entry is focused on omni-tool tech attacks. We've been rather vague on the exact process, and this seemed like a good time to actually be specific. Unlike biotics where there were plenty of Codex entries, tech powers have never really been justified other than a passing mention of flash forging in the Omni-Tool codex entry and Tech Proximity Mines in ME1 - which is the basis for the 'discs' that all tech attacks are launched with. You don't have to read it, but it felt right to do some world building rather than leaving everyone's favorite quarian's iconic skills (besides the shotgun) in the vague._

XXXXXXX

**Codex: Omni-tools - Tech Attacks**

Omni-tools are capable of flash-forging small items out of common ceramics, light alloys, and plastics. However, in the hands of skilled combat engineers they are also capable of manufacturing specialized devices to carry various attack programs to targets. These so-called "Tech Attacks" turns an omni-tool user into a potent force on the battlefield. While not a proper replacement for a solid gun in the eyes of many engineers, it often reduces firepower needs to that of a pistol.

All omni-tool based attacks are centered around a projectile, primarily a disc shaped device known as a Tech Proximity Mine. These charges are flash forged when the tech user initiates the attack and is launched from the omni-tool directly at the target. On impact, the program that the omni-tool installed onto the disc activates and attempts to perform the desired effect. However, depending on the nature of the attack it will either execute successfully or attempt to execute but fail.

Tech based attacks are notorious for their ability to debilitate a fighting force. Asari Commandos who might otherwise easily kill the engineer they face may suddenly find their shields gone, weapons inoperable, or even find their biotic amps disabled. Against synthetics, omni-tool attacks become even deadlier, allowing users to take temporary control over drones and even geth infantry. More exotic options includes creating neurological shocks which electrocute organics, and the Salarian Special Tasks Group has confirmed that they developed systems for omni-tools to allow them to launch more damage oriented attacks.

However, there are several downsides. First, most tech attacks are extremely situational. A disc meant to overload kinetic barriers will do little to a rifle or military hardsuit. A neurological shock will not even harm a synthetic. Kinetic barriers are not heat based, so most weapon sabotage attempts will bounce off shields harmlessly. Size may also serve as a deterrent, as larger systems are harder to overwhelm with the charge located in the small disc. Finally, the ever present dampener of cost. While the programs themselves are easily distributed, omni-tools meant to perform tech attacks must be kept in high maintenance and require a constant supply of suitable omni-gel to be usable. As such, non-specialists rarely invest in utilizing their omni-tools in combat besides common melee weapon programs such as the omni-blade.


	15. Dossier: Mordin

"So, Commander…"

"Yes?" Ashley asked as she looked at Shepard as they walked down the stairs to the elevator.

"How familiar are you with salarian politics?"

"Not much. You?"

"Mostly the basics," the knight explained. "I doubt we'll need it, but you may want to let me handle the talking."

"Why's that?" Kaidan asked with a frown as they waited for the elevator. "I mean, we shouldn't need to do something super complex. We're here to find one guy."

"And not even connected to any important salarian leaders besides being ex-STG," Ashley added as she checked the dossier as the elevator opened.

"Well," Shepard shuffled her foot awkwardly. "If you think we're feudal, the salarians make us look like a bunch of anarchists."

"And never ask a salarian for their full name," Tali added as they stepped in. "Just… just don't."

Ashley was now suddenly tempted to ask a salarian just to see what Tali was talking about, but this was not the time to do it.

"You think the salarians will be worried about the Mako?" Kaidan asked as the elevator came to a halt. "Or should we just find a rental?"

"I doubt we'll run into a major firefight on a Council homeworld," Ashley said as she looked thoughtfully at the newly repaired vehicle. "Though I admit that I would feel safer in something more armored."

"The locals won't like us driving an armed IFV around, especially since we are not inducted Spectres yet," Shepard warned as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So we should probably leave it behind."

"Rental it is then," Ashley nodded in response.

"We should start with Professor Solus' home," Shepard said as Joker lowered the cargo bay ramp so they could get off. "Unless any of you have a better idea?"

Ashley shrugged. "Good a place to start as any."

"Yeah, same here," Kaidan added as they walked down the ramp and into the spaceport.

"This is the first time I've been to Sur'kesh, so don't look at me," Tali finished.

It did not take very long for them to find a skycar rental, though they had walked at least a block from the spaceport before they were able to find one that had a decent price. After finally completing the rental, they headed off to the address given in the dossier. Ashley was looking it over while Shepard sat on the drivers seat with her hands on the wheel, though it was on autopilot at the moment.

"Hmm... Interesting," Ashley muttered and Shepard raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "He's has been in STG for a long time, but no mentions of _what_ he did while working for them. Nothing about special training, operational specialization, not even basic weapon certification... just a mention of him working for STG and that he is extremely skilled in biology."

"Sounds like he was working on something the Union wants to keep secret," Shepard agreed as she looked back towards the lane they were in. "Then again, I am pretty sure the Hashashins don't share half of the stuff they do to anyone besides the Emperor."

"Everyone has their secrets," Ashley said with a nod, "but we are supposed to recruit this guy. They could tell us something more than 'worked for STG before retiring'."

"Well, we can ask him personally. We're here," Kaidan said from the backseat as the car began to slow down. It touched down on a local parking space and the four occupants stepped out.

The house itself was nothing special. The only thing that was notable about it was that it was not a skyscraper. In fact, it reminded Ashley of those condos back on Sirona that multiple people lived in. It had its own lawn, divided into eight parts, one for each door on it. The team walked to the door that was marked to belong to their target, and Ashley rang the bell. The team waited, but a few minutes and a few more rings later, Ashley turned to the others.

"Looks like he isn't home," she said with a shrug. "Someone want to give him a call?"

"I'll do it," Shepard said as she activated her omni-tool and stepped off to the side. After a moment, she scowled and left a message before deactivating her omni-tool. "No answer, just voicemail. Either he's busy, or he's not picking up."

"Well, what now?" Tali asked.

"Ask the neighbors. They're bound to know something," Ashley said. After circling around the fence, the team stood in front of a gate. Shepard was on the front, though she seemed to hesitate on opening the gate itself.

"What's wrong?" Kaidan asked.

"I don't know... I just have a bad feeling," Shepard said uneasily before shrugging and opening the gate. She walked a few steps in before something tackled her into the ground, causing rest of the team to draw their weapons and aim at the melee in front of them.

"Down boy! Stop it! Let the nice lady go!" a salarian shouted as he rushed out from his door. On the ground, Shepard was wrestling with a varren that had some sort of mouth guard that had tackled her from licking her all over. The salarian grabbed the varren by the collar and pulled the creature off.

"Sorry about that, I bought him as a guard, but he seems more interested in making friends," the salarian explained as he tugged on the collar to stop the varren from trying to lick Shepard again.

"This is getting ridiculous..." Shepard muttered with a resigned sigh as she looked over her tabard, which was now covered in varren spit and other random bits of dirt.

"Like I said, sorry, but you should..." the salarian fell silent, finally realizing that two heavily armed humans and a quarian were pointing an assortment of guns at him. "Um..."

"Sorry, instinct," Ashley explained in embarrassment as she felt her body temperature rising. She holstered her rifle, slowly to avoid scaring the salarian. Kaidan and Tali followed suit. Shepard meanwhile stood up, trying to clean her tabard.

"Sorry to interrupt your day like this," Shepard asked, "but we're looking for Doctor Solus. Do you happen to know where he is?"

"Um..." the salarian said again, looking between the members of the team. "He rarely shows up here, only to sleep really," he finally said. He seemed to be trying to decide how much he should tell and whenever or not to try to contact local authorities.

"We are on a Spectre assignment," Shepard explained. "What's your name?"

"You can call me Irnow Cekse," he looked over two of them more carefully. "Oh, I know you, you two are the Spectre Sisters. The two that the media keeps talking about?"

"I swear when I find whoever named that video..." Ashley muttered as she clenched her fist. "Anyway, do you know where we could find Doctor Solus?"

"Well, like I said, he only appears here to sleep really," Irnow explained. "Other times, he either is at the Paernarp University, or Gerrip Laboratories. Occasionally I have seen him talk with some military types, so you could ask them too."

"I see. Thank you," Ashley nodded and gestured for the team to return to skycar.

"So, where should we start?" Tali asked as they got back in.

"The University," Shepard said. "If he's retired, he probably does some guest speaking there or something, much more probable than working at the labs."

"I dunno," Ashley answered as she fastened her seatbelt. "He might be doing some consultation at the lab."

"Or at the university," Shepard retorted. "Plus, students are more likely to talk then company workers."

"I'd be fine with the university," Kaidan chimed in from the back seat.

Ashley paused, then nodded. "Alright, university it is."

XXXXXXX

**Paernarp University**

The trip to the university had been quiet, but when they arrived they had an argument with campus security. While the salarian guard at the gate was okay with them walking around, their assault rifles and shotguns were a bit too much. Nor was he very enthusiastic about them carrying sidearms. After a bit of arguing and a few calls to his superiors, Etel reached a compromise with them: Williams kept her sidearm, while the others (due to biotics or in Tali's case, her tech skill), went in unarmed.

The guard was not happy with it, but Etel had pointed out that leaving Williams with only an omni-blade for defense was rather unfair given that with biotics and tech attacks, the others were a far greater threat. She even managed to talk the guard into mentioning where Mordin sometimes gave guest lectures.

"Since when could you speak political bullshit?" Williams asked as they walked along the sidewalk into the center to campus. "I was expecting to go unarmed."

Etel smirked. "Daughter of a duke, remember? Learning how to negotiate is like learning to drive a car. Except you start at a much younger age."

"Fair enough," she answered with a shrug as she activated her omni-tool to pull up the campus map they had been given. "Let's see, bioengineering building should be on the other side of the quad up ahead."

A few turns and an embarrassed request for directions later, they arrived at the correct part of the building they had been directed to. A receptionist looked up to them.

"How may I help you?"

"We are looking for Professor Solus. Is he available?" Williams asked.

"Unfortunately, Doctor Solus is not available at the moment," the receptionist said, looking as if the team was unwelcome addition to an already bad day.

"Do you know where we could find him?" Etel asked in turn. "Or at least leave a call request?"

"I do not know where the professor is at the moment, but I can take a call order. I will pass it along to the right people."

After giving the details, the team was left standing in the receptionist area, looking out of the window. Students were milling around the courtyard, either waiting for their next lecture or enjoying a break. A few were taking photographs of the trees and Etel was certain she could see some fraternity members laying around a fence with a case between them.

"Ideas?" Etel finally asked as she looked back to the others. Williams shrugged. Alenko, however, looked thoughtful before walking to one of the fraternity students drinking something. A few words later, he returned.

"So, apparently the good professor likes to visit one of the restaurants at the beach. We could try there," he said. Etel just looked at him in surprise.

"And... you got that information for free?" she asked.

"Yeah," Alenko answered, looking confused.

"Nothing. Just wondering," she answered, following Williams who was leading them out. "It's just one of my tutors was educated on Sur'Kesh. Not in this particular university, though. He just said that students tended to be the greediest people he had ever met."

"Studying isn't cheap, especially in the Union," Tali added.

"You had personal tutors?" Williams asked.

"Etel's nobility, you kinda need a different education to remain a Noble," Tali explained before Etel could formulate an answer. "I went through the public school and later went to Akko University."

"Still surprised grandpa managed to set that up..." Etel said as she shook her head. "I mean, Akko is not _that_ big a place."

"Huh. So what's education like in the Empire?" Alenko asked just as he opened a door.

"Well, I really can't compare to other schools, but I got nothing to complain about," Tali said. "I mean, they teach us math, language, history and stuff. Maybe we have an extra theology class there, but so what? So do hanar schools and nobody is shutting those down."

"What did you guys study?" Ashley asked as they moved through the courtyard. "Not the general stuff, I mean, what you were after in particular."

"Math, engineering, that sort of stuff. At least, those were my main interests," Tali explained. "Learned a lot from mom and dad too, like software systems. I did complete a course on University of Saint Gregory, though that was just an online course." As Tali finished, everyone looked at Etel, who had put her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

"Economic models and their application in reality, political protocol and how modern politics work, military history and tactics, administration..." she listed idly before looking at the others. Alenko and Williams were staring at her eyes wide and Etel smirked. "I _am_ a Noble. I'm expected to know this stuff, in case something happens to my family and I need to take up their duties. I need to know how to run a planet, even a star system, or at least the basics. You never know when you are needed."

"That's... a lot," Alenko said.

"No offense, but I can't imagine you as an administrator," Williams said. Etel merely shrugged as they walked down a hill to the parking lot.

"I never said I was _good_ at it. I know the basics, but that does not mean I am actually suited to do any governing. I can probably keep things from falling apart until the Administration can sort things out, but I am going to have to be quick learner to actually govern a fief long term."

"Kind of a tall order still, expecting you to take over the job when your dad retires," Alenko said. "What if none of you want to do so?"

"Well, let's see..." Etel said, putting a finger on her chin. "Dad would never get to retire until he dies and if he retires or dies, our family loses the fief."

"Really?" Williams asked in clear surprise. "Kids as the retirement plan? You guys still run on that?"

"Only Nobles," Tali injected. "Commoners get the pension, but Nobles can't really drop their duties and quit. Their Houses have the obligations and law is clear on the matter. If you are not doing the job, don't expect the perks. My dad can expect to retire in twenty to thirty years and have really good pension, since his job pays well."

Etel shrugged. "Of course, given that we get educated for the job from the start, it's expected. A few do chose not to, but that usually just means succession goes to the next in line. If there are no kids, then they start looking through cousins and the like to see if there is someone able to step up. The alternative is to promote one of the other noble families who run smaller territories up."

Though even as she said it, Etel knew that was not really an option on Akko with how small it was; small enough that her father could handle all three settlements. _I wonder when he's going to put Leto in charge of one of them so he gets hands-on experience,_ she mused briefly as the two marines glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Well, it seems to have worked," Williams finally said.

"It has," Etel said with a nod as they saw their rental in the lot ahead. "So what about the Alliance? What education did you two get?"

"Normal high school education," Williams answered with a shrug. "Got bounced around a lot just from my dad being military, so we went where personnel division said to go, but I got through it. Never went to college, though, I enlisted straight out of graduation."

"And as soon as you were done with basic they sent you to get officer training," Alenko added.

The Lieutenant-Commander nodded. "Yeah. Officer training isn't just military, there's also some standard college education as well. The usual stuff - history, math, writing, that sort of thing. Though if I wanted to go into civilian fields, I'd probably want to actually go to college." She curled her lip thoughtfully. "Though, I'm probably a bit over ranked for the training I've had."

"Really?" Etel asked in surprise. "Why would you be promoted past what you can handle, I thought the Alliance didn't like your family?"

"Interplanetary Combatives Training," Williams answered with a smirk. "It's not a guarantee, but anyone who can get through even one course of it is usually fast tracked for promotion. Only the best can get through that training, and the Alliance wants them ranked appropriately. You usually rise depending on how much you end up doing, then top off for a long time. Take Anderson; he's been at Captain for a while now."

"Well, Anderson would rather command a ship than a fleet," Alenko remarked. "Though the officer education is part of why I joined the military myself, I'm technically a high school dropout."

Etel blinked in surprise, almost stopping where she stood. Alenko as a dropout? That made no sense to her given his tech skills.

"Biotic training?" Tali asked and Alenko nodded.

"Yeah. And when I was done, most public schools didn't know what to do with me. I mean, a biotic student?" He let the implication hang in the air for a minute before continuing.

"Well, people weren't even sure what to make of that, so they just let it linger in red tape limbo until I was eighteen. By that point I just decided to go military and get an education there as well. The Ascension Project is good about making sure we don't miss that just because we're doing biotic training, but they were still ironing everything out when I went through that."

"Sounds rough," Tali said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but it wasn't all bad. Plus the technical training I got was top notch," Alenko said, shrugging again as they reached the car and got in. "Though, if I go for civilian engineering or something, I probably won't need a trip to college first."

"Makes sense," Etel said as they settled into the car. "So, what's the address?"

"Here, lemme do it," Alenko said as he leaned forward and punched the destination into the car's GPS and they were soon on their way.

XXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

"You know, most of the time parking is right next to the restaurant," Ashley commented as they were walking up along the wooden walkway that ran next to the beach.

"I guess they want people to enjoy the view," Tali said with an idle shrug. The beach was empty, but ahead they could see the restaurant on a rock outcropping above.

"Well, we don't get much room on the _Normandy_, so we should probably take the exercise we can get," Kaidan added.

Shepard scoffed. "And dodging geth, Collectors, and husks isn't exercise enough?"

"Touche," Kaidan admitted as they saw someone walking off the path ahead. "Hey, isn't that-"

"Hold on," Tali interrupted as she activated her omni-tool, dossier active on it as she looked at the salarian ahead. "Yup, that's him. Face match confirmed."

Ashley stood still and looked at the quarian dumbfounded while Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"You have a facial recognition system in your suit?" the knight asked.

"Seemed like a good thing to have," Tali commented with a shrug. "We better hurry."

The team jogged forward and caught up. "Doctor Solus, Doctor Solus!" Shepard called and the salarian turned, saw them, and stopped. As the team caught up, Ashley had her first good look at the older salarian, who was holding a wicker basket.

While he wore a standard lab coat, what caught Ashley's attention was a metal protrusion from the back of his collar that ended on the sides of his head, though it didn't touch. One of the small horns was shortened and the scars on his face immediately told Ashley that this salarian had been in fights, but otherwise he seemed like most other doctors. Harmless.

"Yes, need help?" he said. "Retired, but can help with medical matters."

"We were hoping to talk to you, actually," Shepard explained. "We need your help. I'm..."

"Sir Etel, of House Shepard, Knight Hospitaller and Spectre Candidate," the salarian finished with a nod before looking at Ashley. "Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, Systems Alliance Navy and also a Spectre candidate." The salarian smirked. "Or, what extranet media refer to as 'Spectre Sisters'. Though a name they approve of?" Doctor Solus put his hand not carrying the basket on his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, we're not biological sisters for one," Ashley commented as Tali tapped her on her shoulder, "but…"

"Not how I envisioned this ending," another voice said and both Spectre candidates turned to see Nihlus standing there. The turian nodded. "I expected this to take a little longer, but sometimes chance gets you there."

"You were following us, weren't you?" Shepard asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"No, was with me," Solus explained, "but kept moving. He wanted test. Was happy to oblige."

Ashley had to fight down asking him about his syntax. She knew salarians talked quickly, but they at least talked normally otherwise. _The lizard sounds like that old discredited stereotype involving old Chinese martial arts trainers,_ she thought with a vague sense of annoyance. Though another thought interrupted that.

"Wait, you mean you already talked to him?" Ashley asked as she looked at Nihlus.

"Yes," the Spectre admitted. "But I did want to test you. Though, this isn't over yet. Professor, I'll be at the car in a minute."

The salarian nodded and walked towards the parking lot.

"What do you mean this isn't over?" Shepard finally asked. "You didn't convince him?"

"Oh, he knows what's going on. He actually figured it out before I started talking to him about it," Nihlus explained as he gestured them back towards the parking lot. "But he wants to talk to you. It'll be up to you to fully convince him. I already did my part, but he's quite adamant about seeing you four."

"Us four?" Kaidan asked in surprise. "That's… ominous."

The walk back to the parking lot was suspiciously quiet.

XXXXXX

"So, how does this work?" Ashley asked when they were back at the car.

"Talk with you. One at a time. Maybe in the restaurant? Serves good drinks. Also has dextro-amino kinds," the professor explained as he put the basket in his car and locked it. "Want to ask a few questions. See then if I'm going to join. Want to know who I will be working with."

"Fair enough," Shepard said with a slight nod. "So, who do you want to start with?" the salarian looked around, before nodding towards Ashley.

"Start with Lieutenant-Commander. Interested to hear opinions of humans from Alliance."

"Uh, okay," Ashley said with a shrug and the two started walking towards the restaurant.

"So, missions have gone well?" Solus asked as they started to leave earshot of the rest of the group.

"Yeah," Ashley admitted as she tried to puzzle out where this is going and decided to stay vague. "Can't say getting shot is fun, but they've gone well so far."

"Injuries never enjoyable," the salarian agreed. "Especially when missing body parts. Take right cranial horn - recon mission gone bad."

_I wondered why that one was shorter,_ she thought. "Not able to fix it?"

"Not needed," he said with a shrug. "Not critical or useful. Predominantly cosmetic. Surgery's expensive anyways. Received cybernetic hip replacement once. Later restored to organic after retiring from STG. Much easier to maintain. Of course, many like to repair injuries - medical technology continues to grow. Extremely so for Alliance, yes?"

"To be fair, we are new arrivals, so yeah, it's taken some leaps and bounds."

"Indeed. Joining galactic community, discovering Empire. Very atypical of first contact. Perhaps best case, though."

"Best case?" Ashley asked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Hmmm. How many years ago was Earth able to develop firearms?"

She paused and tilted her head side to side as they almost at the door. "Maybe six hundred years, give or take."

"Ah, so Empire would have had atmospheric jet fighters at that time. Now imagine that Earth was discovered during that time. Imagine complications. Two humanities, one being uplifted, other naturally growing, great developmental difference. What do to? Integrate? Expand the uplift? Keep the two separate? Very complex. Cannot afford to have one human population second class to other. However, events happened in manner that allowed natural growth."

"Maybe," she admitted as she opened the door. "Still, the Council should have seen this coming."

"Easy to say in hindsight, hard to say at time," Solus noted as they walked in and he gestured to a table in a corner. "Was expected to some degree. Not to this level. Still, humanity outlier. Defied expected conventions, yet Human Situation is result of extraordinary circumstances. Unlikely to ever be seen again. But now, what will the Alliance do?"

"We just want to be good neighbors," she answered as she glanced at the drink menu, a holographic display integrated into the table itself. "But at the same time, we're not going to bend over just because there's another human nation out there. They didn't know we existed, we never even dreamed they did. If we have to go alone to not get forced under them, I'm fine with that."

The salarian nodded as a waiter came by. "Frailian tea with distril for me," he said with a nod. "Would you like some, Commander? Very popular amongst humans too," he noted. "Or at least, the Empire."

"Uh, sure," Ashley said with a shrug. _Might as well,_ she decided as she glanced at the menu and it looked vaguely familiar. The waiter nodded and walked off.

"Going alone is very difficult," Solus said with a quick nod. "Look at batarians. Surviving, yes, but standard of living far below Citadel worlds."

"Maybe," Ashley said, "but if we have to kneel to an outside power without any real say, maybe it's worth it."

"So, opposed to allies?"

"No, not really. Having allies is good, it's important. I mean, most human wars tend to end with the most unified collection of powers involved winning," she explained, before recalling the term was much wider than it used to be. "Or at least on Earth, but if you're all give and you don't get something from it, is that an alliance or a tributary state setup? And what if your allies are also in favor of a group that is an existential threat, is that really an alliance?"

The professor nodded slowly. "Irresponsible of Titus to demand assimilation immediately. Should have listened to his sons and Council's advice on the situation. Wait and see. Listen, observe, learn. May have prevented Human Situation, may not have. But hasty action made solving it that much harder."

"It usually does," she said with a shrug as the waitress brought the tea and Ashley had to fight a sense of revulsion from the fact that it was _green_. And a very distinct shade of green, not just mostly transparent with some coloration. _Can't taste worse than field rations,_ she decided as she cautiously took a sip and nearly gagged from the bitter aftertaste. "Damn, how do Imps drink this stuff?"

The salarian smirked slightly as he calmly sipped his own tea. "Probably acquired. Would recommend some distril," he gestured to the little rack on the side of the table and Ashley nodded as she grabbed a small packet and ripped it open.

"Though as I was saying," she continued, deciding to play along for now, "the Alliance can't afford to be part of the Citadel if it means we're just going to be pushed around by the Empire. If we're equal partners, sure, but just because they happened to get captured a thousand years ago shouldn't put them over the rest of humanity. And if the Council wants the Systems Alliance to work with them, it shouldn't be us mostly giving."

"Reasonable," Solus said as Ashley tried the tea again and the aftertaste was partially gone, though it was still rather strong for her liking. "But the price of integration is often a loss of independence. How much, of course, is the question."

"Well, the Citadel is supposed to be a union of different nations, right? No one's giving up their own individual sovereignty, just agreeing to share some common laws and regulations to work together so we all stay alive."

"Indeed, apt summation. Common misconception amongst newcomers that Councilors lead their nations. Very wrong, in fact, more accurate to say they are more ambassadors negotiating transnational issues."

"Right, well, if that's the case, then the Alliance at the very least should be able to speak up and not just be talking to a bulkhead," she took another sip and made a mental note to stick to coffee in the future. "Not to be rude, but I really doubt that the Council would take the Alliance over the Empire if it was more convenient for them."

"Cynical, but understandable," he said with a nod and took another sip before continuing. "Stick with the familiar, known quantities rather than unnecessary risk with unknowns. So, low opinion of Empire?"

Ashley raised her eyebrows in surprise. This seemed barely related to the mission at all. _Play along,_ she told herself before shrugging. "I've got nothing against them living their culture, as long as they don't shove it down my throat. Take Shepard; she's a nice woman. I wouldn't necessarily call her a friend, but we work well enough together. But she's still an Imperial, and well, I'm Alliance Military. Not much room for a real friendship there."

"Remove political context, would you consider such?"

She paused, taking a long sip to cover for herself. _Damn I really wish I was better at this sort of thing,_ she thought. Would she consider Shepard a friend? They had only known each other for two weeks, tops. Though she could not really call her stranger after she had fought with her against a common enemy during those two weeks.

"Maybe, but all I have is the context. It's not a science experiment," she finally said.

Solus nodded slowly. "Reasonable. Though curious if such friendships possible. Speaks good of humanity's future if so."

"Okay," Ashley said as she finally had enough, "sorry to be blunt, but I'm having a bit of trouble seeing how all of this was related to the mission."

"Ah, played along? Good, good," the salarian nodded. "Apologies. Had to see if you were willing to work with others. Have habits of thinking out loud, talking too much about work. Annoys some. Was curious how much you put up with and reacted."

"So this was all a test?" she asked as she leaned back in the chair and folded her arms.

"Of a sense," he answered as he continued drinking his tea, which he was taking his time with. "Had to see how you reacted. Better gauge of personality than directly asking. Tangentially related topics very effective. Normally dislike metaphor, but sometimes useful."

"Okay," Ashley said slowly as she was trying to wrap her head around the idea. "So, you just wanted to see if I was okay with your differences?"

"Rough summation, yes," the doctor admitted.

"Okay, you've asked me a lot, now I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead," he said.

"You seem to avoid using pronouns. Sorry, but it's been bugging me."

"Fair question. Best answer is efficiency. Why use infinitives, wastes time. Still, will try to talk clearly. Fair warning, tend to think aloud, so if tangent starts you can interrupt."

"Right," Ashley answered as she glanced down at her tea and wondered if it would be polite to finish it before they left. _Might as well,_ she decided as she tried to drink more of it and had to fight down her gag reflex again.

"Any other questions?" Solus asked. She shook her head and put the cup down.

"No, not really. I mean, we both know what this is about and well, we probably won't cross paths much just from our jobs."

The professor nodded. "Don't worry about tea, will put on my tab."

"Thanks," she said as she was about to reach for her omni-tool. "So, you going to talk to someone else now?"

The salarian doctor nodded. "Please send Sir Shepard on her way."

XXXXXXX

"So, Alenko," Etel said as they were standing around. "I know the Alliance is overall secular, but how do they handle those who do hold religious beliefs? I mean, that had to have come up at some point."

"Yeah, plenty of times," Alenko answered with a shrug. "Most of the time though people find out about other people's beliefs by accident; professionalism means it usually doesn't come up."

"So how'd you figure it out with Williams if it doesn't come up? I caught wind of that betting pool."

Alenko shifted uncomfortably before answering. "Well, she mentioned her dad was still watching so I'd better behave."

Etel caught onto what he was talking about immediately and wondered where this was going. "What did you say?"

"I said, _'he isn't a zombie, is he?_'" Kaidan grinned before pausing and hunching his shoulders in embarrassment. "Yeah, I still feel like an asshole about it."

She smirked in amusement. "Maybe, but it is a funny response. I'm guessing she explained after?"

"And that's why I still feel like an asshole about it."

"I guess the question is, did she get a kick out of it?"

"Yeah, she said something to that effect. Hilarious in hindsight, I guess."

"Well, speak of the devil," Etel said as she looked up and saw Williams walking up. "How did it go, Commander?"

"Well enough," Williams answered uneasily, "though he wants to talk to you next, Shepard."

She nodded and walked towards the restaurant, easily finding Solus inside.

"Sir Shepard. Pleasure to meet you. Do sit," the professor said as Etel walked to the table. She sat down and ordered some water to drink as the waiter had came by.

"Good to meet you to, professor," she said as the waiter left. "So, I take it you and Williams got along?"

"Relatively well, yes," he said with a nod. "Rare to see humans from both nations working together."

_Playing this game, huh?_ she thought before answering.

"Well, we are humans in the end. Same species, maybe a different 'sub-race' - for lack of a better term," she added before the biologist could correct her, "But that's just from the time gap. We're both human," Etel shrugged. "Besides, we got a common goal and common enemy. How did that old saying go..." she thought for a moment what her grandpa used to say. "It unites a christian and a muslim when a batarian kills both?"

"Ah yes, adaptation to new circumstances by abductees, pooling resources to survive," Solus nodded. "Interesting to study. Unique event in history. Chance to study effects of external factors versus natural evolution."

"Science takes the chances it can," she answered with a shrug. "Might not like having to take some, but how else do you get a chance to see some things that are otherwise all theory?"

"Indeed. Still, mostly cultural. Genetic drift not large. Minor, cosmetic. Still same species. Not like varrens in Thessia and Tuchanka. Couple hundred generations and Thessia breed slowly becomes new species, innately biotic. Humans? Not so."

"The Alliance certainly surprised everyone." Etel admitted, wondering what the ex-STG was going for.

"Cultural differences, expected. Drastic level, not so much. Cultures usually stabilize around core concepts. Asari city-states, democracy. Turian warbands, military service. Volus clans, trade. Humans, develop two core concepts in isolation. Yet, which one real?"

Etel shifted uncomfortably at where this was going. _Going right into the rift between the Alliance and Empire,_ she realized. "Depends of your definition of real, professor," she said, once again grateful that her education did include some philosophical discussion, "as the Empire and the Alliance are both human states."

"Quite so," the professor agreed. "But, now question comes: which one represents real core values? The one born in isolation? Or the one born from interaction?"

_So that's what he is going for. How well I can accept the Alliance's differences, _Etel realized as the waiter came back with the water.

"Thank you," she said before turning back to the professor. "Only time will tell," she answered with a shrug. "The only thing we can do is see what happens."

"Interesting," Solus said as he sipped his tea. "Doesn't Abrahamic faith call for spreading it, call for all of humanity to be under one banner?"

"It also says that forcing religion on people is wrong, that conversion has to be willing," she countered immediately. The salarian' eyes brightened briefly and he nodded with a faint smile.

"Indeed. What speaks more of conversion, that done out of fear, or done by true belief? Good to see that message not lost. But still, question remains. Human Situation. Unfortunate, really, but at the same time fascinating sociologically."

"I doubt Councilors would call it fascinating," Etel said, trying to suppress a smirk.

"Quite. Lots of problems for everyone. Some say solutions obvious. Others that those involved are not thinking far enough. Lots of bad implications in hasty actions," Solus explained.

Etel nodded in agreement, taking a sip from her glass. "Agreed. Titus cared for the Empire, but I'll freely admit that he was wrong trying to push the Alliance without knowing everything." She shook her head. Maybe Emperor Baldwin's hopes of some sort of agreement could have been completed already had Titus not gone hardline from the starting gate.

"Suspect Alliance crew would be surprised to hear such. Recall that they believe the Imperial hierarchy is stricter than it is."

"I might know my place, but that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion. I just need to know when to keep it to myself. No different than soldiers in the field of battle," Etel nodded. It was one thing to discuss, even criticize current policy. It was another thing to refuse the orders and become a traitor.

"Indeed. A code to live by," he nodded. "Difficult to live by, too, when at odds with individual sense of justice."

"Sometimes," she admitted as she remembered a mission she had been on years ago. "It's hard when you have to hold position when slavers are ransacking a colony."

"Quite so. Imperial Knights sometimes analogues to asari Justicars. Follow a strict code. Sometimes... problematic when outside asari space."

She nodded. "I remember; which Justicar was it that caused an incident on Thunawauro when she straight up executed a drug smuggler last month? Phora, I think?"

"Indeed. Elcor PDF forces were rather unhappy. Fortunately, occurred in Terminus. Still problematic, would have done more good by sparing smuggler for interrogation."

"Maybe, but there's a reason for codes of honor. With us knights, we're supposed to be there to protect people. Yet one of the first things they teach us is that the code is not absolute. It is not the beginning and ending of morality. How did my drill sergeant put it again..." she paused for a moment to remember the line. "The code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules."

"But still good to adhere to them?"

"Of course, there's a reason for them. But the real test for a knight is choosing how to live with it. Do we just follow it blindly, or do we actually consider if the Code of Chivalry even applies to the situation? What was the original context? Sometime that might be moral in its original context might not be in another."

The professor nodded. "Thank you. Apologies for rudeness, this has been most interesting, but could you send in mister Alenko next?"

_Wait, what just happened?_ Etel thought in surprise, which she was able to keep from showing on her face and nodded. "You're welcome," she said as she rose and walked out.

Mordin Solus was after something, she knew that much. But what was it?

_He was probing how serious I take the Faith,_ she realized as she started walking along the beach back to the parking lot. _But he almost immediately pushed it towards Chivalry and the code there._ Something was going on in that salarian's mind, and she had a suspicion that it had to do with something he himself was struggling with. _Wait, Valern was extremely vague about exactly _what_ he did for the STG…_

She decided to put that thought to the side as she arrived at the parking lot.

"Seriously, a Logic Arrest isn't good enough for multiple attack programs," Tali was saying as Alenko was folding his arms. Williams was reading something on her omni-tool.

"Yeah, but it's also good for my medical duties. I can do more by keeping everyone else standing than I can hacking a couple geth," the Alliance biotic retorted before looking up. "Shepard?"

"Solus wants to talk to you next," she said as she nodded to him. As Alenko walked past, she grabbed him by the shoulder. "Watch what you say," she warned. "The professor has something in his mind, most likely about working together. Think twice about what you say to him. Just a friendly warning," she patted his shoulder as he nodded and continued walking.

XXXXXX

"Professor Solus," Kaidan said as he sat down.

"Lieutenant Alenko. Pleasure to meet. Please, have something. My treat," professor said, nodding towards the holographic menu.

"Thanks," Kaidan said as he took a glance through it. He was unfamiliar with most of the drinks, so he decided to go with some sort of soda that was specifically listed as the 'human choice of beverage'.

"So, feeling okay?" the salarian scientist asked.

"Um, yeah, I'm alright," Kaidan answered with a slight frown. "Mild headache, but not a big deal."

"Lucky one. Most L2 biotics suffer crippling headaches. Not enough buffer between nerves and implants. Direct feedback, too much for body to handle."

"Um... right."

"On the news. Extremist strike two weeks ago. Needed special operatives to calm down. A senator almost died during the rescue, yes?"

"Right, that thing," Kaidan nodded. "The _MSV Ontario_ was hit, yeah. If I recall correctly, the chairman of the Subcommittee for Transhuman Studies had rejected the reparation plans and people were unhappy. He'll live, but he will be spending few months in hospital getting his spine and ribcage fixed."

"Quite. Experiment, given untested implants. Suffer for life now. Yet, no compensation. But at same time necessary to test on someone. Never learn what works without field testing."

"Or just ask the Empire for some tips. They actually know how it works with human physiology."

"True, but bad blood. No good first impressions. Desire to remain outside Empire, yes? Take matters into own hands," the professor leaned forward. "Try to do it alone. In secrecy."

Kaidan tried to keep his face neutral. While BAaT's details were classified, he knew enough about the STG to suspect they were well aware of what occurred there. How much, however, he was not sure. The fact that Solus was more or less openly saying so only made it more puzzling as the waiter brought the drink over.

"Well, I think any sane government would like to have local production for important things in case politics get ugly," he retorted.

"True, but was the pain worth it?"

He shrugged as he took a sip from the drink and to his surprise it actually tasted good. _Well, better keep this in mind next time I go out,_ he decided before looking back at the salarian. "History will probably look back and figure it out. Sometimes we just lack the perspective to make a call on if something was actually worth the cost or not."

"True, but history has hindsight. We do not."

"That's why it's hard to tell, really. You don't know if you made the right choice because you only have your perspective. With the context you had, hopefully it was, but there may be something you don't have," he answered. "I don't know if not holding off biotic training until we had the Empire's knowledge was right or not, but at the time developing it on our own was probably the appropriate choice."

"But is it still the right choice? You are a victim of this matter. What do you think?"

_That was direct,_ Kaidan noted. But it was a good question that he mulled over for a moment before answering. "Well, there were definitely things they could have done better even without having hindsight. But… biotics was going to happen one way or another. The sooner the Alliance got started, the sooner it has a handle on it and the sooner it gets sorted out. Still, if you're going to do something, should be done right, or at least as right as you can. Don't rush to results, you know?"

"Indeed. Be thorough with analysis. Consider all variables, make choice from full knowledge. Ideal, but not always possible." The salarian took a sip from his tea.

"True," he admitted, "but that doesn't mean an effort shouldn't be made."

Solus nodded. "And when the effort is not enough, what then? L2 biotics have no reparation for suffering. Right?"

"No, it isn't, but kidnapping senators aren't going to make matters better either." Kaidan took another drink from his glass before continuing. "I mean, those biotic terrorists who hit the _Ontario_? Probably just made it less likely that reparations will happen. People don't like negotiating with terrorists."

"Unfortunate," the professor noted, "sometimes required to save lives. Then deal with them."

"Of course, if we ended every negotiation by sniping the terrorists we talk with as soon as civilians are clear, no one is going to trust our word." He shook his head. "Still, with those extremists at least getting to the root of the problem would be more effective than sending special forces in every time they start something."

"Cure disease rather than symptoms?"

"Yeah. I mean, chairman Burns didn't deserve to be attacked, but at the same time I have a hard time blaming them for wanting to," the salarian raised an eyebrow at him

"Surprised to hear. Did not expect sympathy."

"Well, I know I'm a lucky one and my headaches are pretty bad sometimes. So, I have an idea of where they're coming from. They were absolutely wrong with what they're doing, I'll be at the front of the line to condemn the action, but I can understand their argument about why."

"Having experienced said issues yourself," the salarian concluded with a brief nod. "But you still recognize why they were wrong."

"More or less."

"Interesting perspective," the salarian said as Kaidan drank more of the soda he had ordered.

"So, what did it say about me?" Kaidan asked as he recalled why these conversations were even happening. "Any problems with working together?"

"Unlikely. In fact, definitely happy to work with you. Mmm, saw medical satchel when you arrived; medic?"

"Yeah," he admitted as he tapped his belt mounted medkit. "Though, don't ask me to perform surgery. I'm good, but I'm not a full on doctor."

"Of course. Anything else to discuss?"

"I don't think so. Let me guess; Tali next?"

"First-name basis?" the salarian asked as he tilted his head.

"Well, it's easier than going by her last name and she's okay with it."

"Fair enough. Though yes, she's the last one, correct?"

"Well, unless the rest of the team showed up, yeah."

"Can talk to them later."

Kaidan nodded and stood, extended his hand. "Pleasure speaking with you, Doctor Solus."

The salarian shook, leaving Kaidan briefly musing on how awkward it was when five fingers met three. "Likewise."

XXXXXX

"Professor," Tali said as she took a seat. "Good to meet you."

"Likewise," Solus answered. "Want something to drink?"

"No thanks," she answered with a shrug. She knew what was coming; Mordin asking her questions and trying to figure out how well she could work together with the others.

"Enjoy seeing galaxy?" Solus asked, smiling. "Heard your father disapproved. Still, always wise to widen worldview."

"Wait, how do you know that?" Tali asked in shock, staring at the salarian in confusion.

"Ex-STG. Still have friends."

"You have a file on _me_?"

"Better question: Who is not in STG's databanks?"

"I... uh…," Tali put her hand to the back of her head awkwardly, unsure of what to say anymore. The idea that the Special Tasks Group had a file on her had never occurred to her before. _I wonder what's in there,_ she wondered briefly before trying to get back to the conversation at hand. "It's uh, been nice to see the galaxy," she continued. "A chance to see what's actually out here."

"Empire quite different from Flotilla. Not so... risky," the professor said, waving a waitress away as she was coming by. "Surprisingly, bad blood between two groups."

"Mostly from the Flotilla really," Tali countered as she remembered some of the conversations she had overheard when Raan came to visit. "I never heard anyone complain about quarians choosing to stay on the Flotilla."

"Yes. Interesting division. Very similar to humans. Except different situations."

"One species, two big groups, and no idea who's right," she said with a slow nod. "Well, that's why I wanted to go out and see the galaxy. I wanted see how what I learned in the Empire stacked up with the galaxy."

"Decide yourself whether Faith of Abraham appropriate or not?"

"Yeah," she admitted as she took at glance towards the door to make sure Etel was not there. "I mean, I'm still practicing, but I don't want to be just because I was mostly raised in the Empire."

Solus nodded. "A very good reason to go out, see galaxy. Wish more would look beyond their own cultures. May solve more issues in galaxy if done more."

"Maybe," she shrugged. "I can understand why the quarians on the Flotilla dislike those who join the Empire. They walk away from a lot doing so." She paused uncomfortably. "I don't want to call it _betrayal_, but…"

"Some see it as such," the salarian biologist finished. "See it as walking away from culture that makes quarians quarian. Giving up identity rather than tough it out."

Tali shrugged. "I guess so, but... I don't know, what makes a quarian a quarian?" she asked. "I mean, am I not a quarian? Last I checked I had quarian DNA, body structure, and immune system. I mean, if that doesn't make me a quarian then what does? Living on a rusting bucket of bolts?"

"Ah, yes. Identity. Defined either by culture, or genetics. Interesting concept. Is one raised to become a member of his species, or is one born?" Solus said, tapping his chin.

"Which brings up the incorrect assumption that each species has one culture. After all, the asari's republics might have shared traits, but each one is different," Tali pointed out. "Or more drastically, the Alliance and the Empire."

"Quite. Still, an outlier. Not usual example. Differences usually less... drastic. Quarians the greatest rift, besides humans. Still, common concepts."

"I guess so..." Tali said. "I can't say that I'm not biased. I barely remember anything from the Flotilla. Then again, what I do remember and have heard, they also place strong emphasis on the community, right?"

"Of course, is it right by the Empire to push a change?"

"Huh?" Tali asked, taken back.

"The offer. Join and convert, or stay on Flotilla. Why not openly give a planet?"

"Well..." Tali said, racking her brains for what she remembered from the school. "There was the Ekuna case eighty years ago. The Flotilla botched it up, but if they hadn't, it could have been a new home for the Flotilla quarians. If I remember correctly, several Merchant Guilds backed them when the Flotilla petitioned for the colonization rights. It was a hard blow for them when Council decided against it and they cut what little trade they had with the Flotilla after that."

"Yes, know of it. Didn't wait for decision, began colonizing early. Council took as defiance. Didn't like it." He shook his head before finishing his tea.

"Yeah. I heard there has been talks about the Flotilla colonizing a new planet on the edges of Citadel space. Apparently there is a suitable planet around there, but the turians have no interest in it at the moment," Tali shrugged. "Well, if they don't colonize it before the negotiations finish, maybe they'll be able to settle and not live one hull breach away from extinction."

"Would be good to see, yes. Perhaps a new beginning. Rebuild the old civilizations."

"As long as they don't try what happened with the geth again, knack for synthetics or not," she pointed out as she remembered her father and aunt discussing one of the quarian admirals trying something stupid about the geth.

Mordin nodded. "Lessons learned. Otherwise, entire cycle starts again."

"I doubt the Council would be as _lenient_," Tali said with as much sarcasm as she could pour into the word, "if the quarians created another geth. Once is an accident, twice is on purpose, three times is a plan."

"Same fear with the krogan," Solus nodded. "No sign of learning. Another Rebellion certain without genophage. Unacceptable for galactic society. One galactic war enough."

"There hasn't been a full scale war since the Batarian Crusade, and that was small compared to the Krogan Rebellions," Tali paused as she considered what was going on now, and the information they were finding about Saren's goals. "Though… the conflict going on now could become similar in scale."

"Yes, Crusade last great interstellar war. Still, limited. Only two nation states. Confined, so to speak. At least, initially. Required turians to stop it from growing too large."

"I doubt the Migrant Fleet could handle a war with the way they are now. They have no infrastructure and from what my dad said they were on a tightrope with fuel and other medicines. They try to stockpile for emergencies, but…"

"... already living difficult enough existence to acquire surplus," Solus finished with a nod. "Difficult, living in space. Despite predominance of naval warfare, still need dry land to resupply," he suddenly clapped his hands. "Thank you, this has been interesting. Shall we join the others?"

"Huh? Uh, okay," Tali said, caught by the surprise.

"Need to speak to Spectre Kryik now. Believe he will want an answer."

_That was abrupt,_ Tali thought in surprise as Mordin activated his omni-tool to pay for the drinks. "Uh, okay," she answered, trying to figure out what had just happened as they headed back to the parking lot. The others were talking about something and fell silent as they approached.

Nihlus nodded to them. "Got what you wanted, professor?" he asked

"Yes. Will be happy to assist. What vessel shall we be using?"

"The _SSV Normandy_. I assume you have heard of it?"

"Yes. Not a science vessel. Will need to stock up. Still, can work. Will consider it a challenge. Working with limited resources. Produce best results." The salarian paused as Williams and Etel gave him a strange look. "Also, help save people from Collectors. Always important."

"Right," Alenko said uneasily as he shrugged. "So, back to the _Normandy_?"

XXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

_**SSV Normandy**_

"Welcome aboard, Professor Solus," Anderson said as they entered the airlock.

"Glad to be here," Solus answered. "Also, feel free to use given name. No need for formalities."

Anderson nodded. "Fair enough."

Mordin turned and looked around briefly. "Mixed human-turian design, yes?"

Ashley was immediately on guard. This was _exactly_ why she was so uncomfortable about letting outsiders on the _Normandy_. "It is," she answered. "Also, I need to warn you that for security…"

"Avoid drive core, avoid CIC as able to, don't snoop," the salarian answered immediately. "Well aware of such procedures."

"Well," Anderson said as he chuckled, "I was wondering when that would happen."

Ashley's mouth hung open for a moment as Kaidan and Shepard were smirking before she shut it and nodded. "Okay. As long as that's clear, let's move on. We have a place for Mordin, right?"

"Doctor Chakwas volunteered that extra room behind the medbay," Anderson explained. "She and T'Soni are making sure everything's clear."

"Then all we need is the equipment. Councilor Valern forwarded me a location where we can pick up the needed materials here. Mordin?"

The salarian scientist nodded. "Yes, will compile needed list. Would like to see room first, though. Need to know how much can be fitted. Also, will need samples. Mmm. Unlikely any have been captured, so will need missions launched to acquire..."

Ashley gave Kaidan a sidelong glance and the biotic shrugged as Mordin went on about the list.

"One thing at a time," Anderson finally cut in.

"We can pick up samples on the ground, though," Shepard added. "We seem to run into enough Collectors as is. Unless you want to be there yourself?"

The salarian paused a moment before shaking his head. "No, will be needed here likely. Still, will observe missions as able. Forward list of things needed in case encountered." The salarian activated his omni-tool briefly and nodded. "Though yes, one thing at a time. Captain?"

"This way," Anderson said with a nod and led Mordin out of the CIC and Nihlus turned to them.

"Well," he said, "Not quite how I envisioned this happening, but you did well. Although I would have had someone left at his house to keep an eye out. Of course, you were out with much more limited group."

Ashley and Shepard looked each other, Ashley feeling rather embarrassed that they completely forgot that possibility. _He could have been back at any time,_ she thought as she had to fight the urge to smack her forehead.

"And you should probably have tried calling _first_," Nihlus said. "But overall, can't fault your methods with such limited group and efforts. As a full Spectre, you are expected to build your own network of informants and information sources. While the Council will provide what it can, the less routes your enemies have to trace back to the Council, the better."

"We did accomplish the goal, though," Shepard pointed out.

"Yes, you did," Nihlus acknowledged with a faint nod. "Anyways, you four are on your own time. The new ammo showed up while we were out, so you should probably start modifying your gear as appropriate."

XXXXXXX

**Fifteen Minutes Later**

"Hey, Shepard."

Etel waved her hand. "Evening, Williams," she said as she kept looking through her locker in the engineering bay.

"So, what are you doing?" the Alliance Marine asked.

"Trying to see if I have any clean tabards left, apart from my House colors. As proud as I am of my heritage, I am not wearing bright blue and yellow into the battlefield. At least the Order colors are less obvious," she paused. _Well, excluding snowy environments,_ she added silently.

"Well, I got a solution for your ruined tabards," Williams said.

"What?" Etel asked, finally looking at her. Williams was merely holding up two spray cans, one with black paint and the other with white. Etel stared for a moment, before wordlessly taking them and walking to the workbench where her armor was laying.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Authors' Notes:**

_\- We early on knew we would need Mordin, but there was another very big advantage to having him on the _Normandy_, as you saw above. He's a philosophical character, excellent as a way to put some points to the cast._

_-The hunt for Mordin was initially planned to be longer, but was cut to a shorter length very early on when writing this chapter. We realized that the point of the chapter would NOT be trying to find Mordin, but the conversations we could do with him._

_\- Thanks to RheasHelm, Jozern, scottusa1, and dragon matt blue for their reviews._

_\- The Codex Entry below is focused on Merchant Guilds. We've had off-hand mentions of them a few times, but this was the first time they really came up. Basically something the Empire brought to the table in the time between being abducted and First Contact with the SA. While not entirely new concept to the galaxy, you could say that the Empire was first one to push them to level where they began to compete with the megacorps._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Codex: Merchant Guilds**

Merchant Guilds, which began in the Star Empire of Jerusalem, are a collection of several heads of companies, usually people holding the title of Patrician. These guilds serve as a larger front for smaller corporations, allowing them to compete with larger megacorporations. Merchants guilds can, depending their size, operate anywhere between local to galactic trade.

Guilds are often compared to Chivalric Orders, though the resemblance is considered superficial by both guilds and Orders. Guilds are not officially sanctioned by the Empire, but larger and well established Guilds do gain smaller donations from local Nobility to encourage their presence in their fief. Guild members are not tied directly to the guild, so if one member is to be bankrupted it does not affect the guild directly. Each member still operates independently, they simply work together.

Despite originating from the Star Empire, several companies around the galaxy have formed their own Guilds. Some of these Guilds specialize in particular area of market, while others try to expand their operations as far as they can. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to see a volus as the head of a Merchant Guild, even in Imperial territories. The volus owned Elkoss Combine even maintains significant assets in Imperial territory, providing much of the Star Empire's infantry armaments as well as many other cheap but reliable goods from tools to technology.


	16. Armstrong Nebula - Geth Outposts

"So, what's the deal with the tabard?" Ashley asked as she watched Shepard make the needed preparations to paint her armor.

"Tradition, really. Normally we have more than enough to spare, so running out of them is not an issue," Shepard responded, shaking the black can for a moment before beginning.

"I would have thought you people would have already moved onto using painted armor rather than tabards, to be honest."

"Oh, most have. The Imperial Army uses painted armors for all their rank insignias and formation colors, though they repaint camo to whatever they need. Our House Guard also has painted armor," Shepard explained as she evenly sprayed along the front of the armor for the first coat. "It's just that, well, it _is_ a tradition, and one we'd like to keep. Losing a tabard is nothing new, really." She paused and smirked. "Though, it is considered a sign of skill to come out of a battle with your tabard intact."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense, assuming the guy hasn't been hiding for the whole fight," Ashley said, giving a moment to the thought.

"True. Although in general, especially in the Hospitallers, it would be hard to hide and still claim participantship. People will notice if someone is missing from the ranks," Shepard put the front plate of her armor to the side and began working on the back half. "We don't employ too many snipers; actually most of our long range specialists are more dedicated marksmen than snipers. If we need a genuine sniper team we usually ask the Army for help or the Antioch Rangers to lend a team."

Ashley nodded. "So you don't have too many people who can legitimately stay out of the splatter zone."

"Correct. And besides, it keeps a few people in employment. I think the entire tabard industry employs, what was it... about 4,000, maybe 5,000 people in total? Not many, but it's something. Hospitaller tabards come from an old family business."

"So the paint can is not something new," Ashley said, giving a smile to indicate she was not serious. Shepard shook her head, also grinning.

"Oh, paint cans aren't new. They are useful for practical jokes. You would be surprised how immature Orders become if two have to share a ship or base," Shepard's eyes became distant, as if she was calling some particularly funny memory.

"Sounds about the same as putting ground pounders and navy crew together," Ashley nodded. "I remember this one time, when we were working alongside an N7 demo team and other detachments during a pirate clearing op. My squad and the N7s with us were taking some R&amp;R aboard the dreadnaught heading the taskforce. When one of the dread's gunners was dumb enough to paint an N7's armor with a pin up, I remember hearing the captain say _'Begun, the Prank Wars have'_."

"What happened?" Shepard asked curiously.

"His entire bunk was filled with grenade pins and other arming mechanisms from used grenades. And boy did she have a lot of them." She shook her head. Putting a pin up of a woman on a woman's armor was about as life lengthening a move as making dead baby jokes to a krogan.

Shepard nodded at the story. "Once we had to share space with some Mutazili and Hashashins. It's already uncommon to have Hashashins sharing space, but to have the Mutazili too? Rare."

"So, how did it all end?" Ashley asked.

"By the time we left, someone had painted '_Consort is my co-pilot_' on our ship," Shepard shook her head. "I still don't know how they got the paint and EVA suits to pull that trick without someone noticing. Meanwhile the Hashashins found out that their tabards - mostly for formal occasions since they tend to skip them in their duties - had been changed to napkins and the Mutazili... well, let's just say that their catalogue of rare books had... interesting additions in it." Shepard rolled her eyes and sighed. "I am sure their Grandmaster appreciated our additions."

"Do I even want to know?" Ashley said, fearing the answer.

"Let's just say that Fornax looked like a book about moral decency compared to some of the additions. That day, I read things humans are not meant to read."

"Kinda hard to imagine you doing stuff like that," Ashley said after managing to fight down her desire to not want to know what was in there, staring at the normally formal and proper knight.

"Like I said: We can be defenders of justice and paragons of virtue, but put us into the same space and we turn into a bunch of immature brats, no matter who we are," Shepard said, finally picking the white paint and starting to paint the cross to the chest.

"You sure you want a giant bullseye on your chest?" Ashley asked. Highlights like that always made aiming easier; even somewhat rewarding to the shooter.

"It is the most protective part of the armor. Why else do you think we have it there? Better to have them shoot at the strongest part than try to headshot us, or cripple us."

"To be fair, you should be aiming for center mass most of the time. Headshots are a lot harder to do."

"True, but when they do connect..." Shepard said. "If we ever find the man who sold that shipment of Punisher rifles to the Terminus pirates, I swear, we are going to hang him with his own guts. It was bad enough back when they were using batarian made Lightnings - utter crap sniper rifles, by the way - but then someone sells them turian special operations rifles. How did he even get his hands on them?" Shepard slammed her fist on the table.

"I take it you lost some good men and women to these new weapons?" Ashley said.

"We did," Shepard responded, composing herself. "Everyone always talks about how strong the bonds between knights are and such, but honestly... it's easier _not_ to get attached to your squadmates. One wrong move and blam! Another funeral to attend. They say it never gets easier, but I don't know about that. Maybe it doesn't, but you become numb to it."

"Lost a lot of people under your command?" Ashley asked, remember how she felt herself when it had happened under her command.

Shepard shook her head. "No, I am a Knight, not an Honorable Knight. My job isn't to command missions," she explained, starting the second layer of the cross.

"You took command of a platoon on New Syracusae," she pointed out.

"We're still trained in military tactics and leadership as Knights, but for most of us that's more to step in when the army needs help." She shook her head. "Though not being in charge doesn't make it any less painful. You can have been serving together for years and then some asshole upgrades every pirate's kit. Suddenly your friends are dropping around you, because pirates can punch through your K-barriers."

Ashley nodded grimly as she walked to her locker and grabbed her assault rifle; she had an ammo kit to modify in.

XXXXXXX

"Ah, interesting," Mordin said as he read over the report. "Marine retained consciousness during paralysis. Effective, admirable."

"Admirable?"

"Yes, extremely difficult to tailor paralysis to do so. Also ensures minimal issues with de-paralyzation," he answered as he looked up at the young asari. "Fortunate for ground team too. Once effect fades, minimal difficulties returning to action."

"I suppose," Liara admitted uncertainly, "but how can you admire these things? That testimony was from the only marine that survived Therum!"

Mordin privately noted that technically speaking three other marines had survived and were now serving on the _Normandy_. "Admire individuals? No. Admire work? Yes. Foolish not to; ignore potential without due respect. Similar to archeology, yes?"

The young asari frowned. "Not… really?"

"Imagine monuments culture practices slavery. Slavery detested in modern day, but monuments still respected. Why?"

"Because they're incredible feats of engineering that withstood the test of time?" she offered, tilting her head.

"Indeed. Yet often asked, how was such built in that time period? If no due respect is given, make foolish assumptions of abilities. Underestimate. Ignore variables from hubris. Can't do that. Can't ignore evidence when recovering history, can't ignore possibilities when developing countermeasures. Must. Respect. Opponent."

Liara shrugged as she glanced at the last piece of lab equipment they moved in and she had helped calibrate. "I should probably head out, then, and leave you to your work."

"Of course. Feel free to stop by, though. Door always open unless doing hazardous testing. May test bio-weapon later."

"_Bio-weapon?!"_

"Not on us, of course," Mordin elaborated offhandedly. "Just running specs on new counter to Illium Titanium Mites; infestation on Taetrus, asked to provide feedback on specifically targeted pesticide."

The asari quickly left the room and Mordin shrugged. "Harmless to non-titanium digesting species," he muttered as he brought up the known information on the Collector's paralyzing insects. _Need designation,_ he decided and opened a note file for any ideas that came to mind.

XXXXXX

**Forty Minutes Later**

_**Normandy **_**Mess Hall**

"Hey Etel, hey Ash," Tali said as Etel and Williams returned to the second deck.

"What's going on?" Etel asked, sitting next to the quarian.

"Not much, just listening to the news. Apparently something big was happening on Earth."

"Big?" Williams asked with a frown. "Like what?"

"Let me see..." Tali said, fiddling with her omni-tool before finding what she had been looking for. The image of a salarian reporter appeared.

"_The latest reports from our correspondents on Earth confirm that a rogue VI was present on Earth's moon, Luna. The VI was terminated by an elite group of special forces operatives, who infiltrated the facility and destroyed the main computing core."_

"Rogue VI? That isn't good;" Jenkins said, coming around the corner with a drink in hand.

"Yeah, that close to Earth, it could do almost anything," Williams nodded. Jenkins gave a quick salute after noticing her, which she returned quickly before the two marines focused on the news.

"_Several organizations have already accused the Alliance of illegal AI research. The Council has stated that while it will launch an investigation regarding the accusations, it will not impose sanctions on the Alliance unless definite proof of AI research is found._"

"And they won't find any, as other than a few minor settlements, Luna only has low-G training grounds and some obsolete Helium-3 mines," Williams added.

"I heard they recovered some ancient Soviet satellite recently. Said it was going straight to a museum," Jenkins commented. Etel was about to ask what he meant by Soviet when the image of the salarian reporter was replaced by Udina and both Alliance members leaned forward.

"_These claims have no base and merely slander. We do not know why this VI went insane, but we have _not_ violated any Citadel laws,"_ Udina declared, waving his hand as if holding back invisible reporters.

"_Ambassador Udina, is it true that the VI took over a training ground, that despite regulations had live fire rounds loaded on its drones?"_ an off-screen reporter asked.

"_I can not answer that, since I am not yet fully informed of the situation back on Sol. The comm channels are being limited and strictly monitor, until we are sure that the VI has not escaped the Sol system. No further questions, I have a job do to,"_ Udina curled his lip and walked away as the footage switched back to the salarian reporter.

"_That was ambassador Udina, representing the Systems Alliance on Citadel. The Channel 55 News Network will continue to report on this as the situation develops."_

"Ouch," Tali said. "At least you killed the thing before it could start multiplying."

"If it could," Williams said as she leaned back. "If it took over a training facility, it had to be a military VI. The protocol regarding military VIs is rather clear. They are to lack all ability to access their own data, to prevent them from copying it. Though I wonder why it went nuts?"

"Faulty data?" Etel suggested, rolling her shoulders briefly as she remembered some of her past missions. "I've seen my share of rogue VIs, most of them have some nonsense data submitted into them. Like, some fool designates organics as 'raw materials' to kill some guy. Then act surprised when all mechs in the facility begin to grab all the workers and throw them into grinders."

"People do that?" Jenkins asked as his eyes went wide. "I mean, that's just sick."

"You see some dark stuff in the Terminus Systems. Citadel space has its own share of nutters, just ask Garrus for some C-Sec stories, but overall... better here than there."

"Though how did it get access to lethal rounds?" Tali asked curiously.

"Probably didn't," Williams answered as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "The VI most likely just overrode the safety limitations and made bigger rounds at faster velocities. Those drones, at least back when I trained, were supposed to be something to be deployed in case of an emergency. So they had the ability to go for lethal shots if authorized."

"It's a bit hard to see how training rounds could be kicked up to that kind of power," Etel admitted as she remembered her days in training, "but then again, a training facility probably has enough training drones that volume of fire could do the job."

"That's probably what happened," Jenkins commented as he shook his head. "Still, someone's ass is going to fry for that."

"No doubt," Tali nodded. "A rogue VI is nothing to sneeze at. If they are allowed to run wild for too long, there is a possibility they could locate themselves a quantum core or worse, begin to network."

"Like the geth," Etel agreed. "One moment, you think you just have a slightly malfunctioning VI and next thing you know, a damn AI is trying to kill you."

"Wonder what the Council will do," Jenkins asked as he put a hand on his chin. "I mean, the Alliance is already doing all it can to make sure it actually was contained."

"Most likely just send investigators; this isn't the first VI that has gone rogue," Etel explained to the Eden Prime farmboy. "Probably monitor all communications networks and systems with extra care too. Though it is unlikely that it got away, VIs rarely jump from one system to another unless they are specifically designed for such things."

"Still, better safe than sorry," Williams noted.

"Exactly."

"_Hey Commander, Shepard,"_ Joker said over the intercom suddenly, _"you guys might want to head to the briefing room; we just got a call from Admiral Hackett and Anderson wants everyone there."_

"Thank you, Joker," Etel said as she stood and nodded to the two Alliance Marines. "Shall we?"

XXXXXXX

A minute later, Ashley, Jenkins, Shepard, and Tali entered the briefing room, where the rest of the ground team and Liara were looking towards Admiral Hackett - who was present via a hologram from transmitted from wherever he was stationed. Notably, Nihlus was standing in the back of the briefing room this time rather than being up front.

"_Is this everyone?"_ Hackett asked.

"It is," Anderson answered.

"_Good,"_ Hackett said with a nod. _"We found where these attacks have been coming from. A series of geth outposts in the Armstrong Nebula. Intel - from all Citadel members - managed to check the routes you found on New Syracusae and identified several relays that had been inactive in the Nebula but were opened up recently by the geth."_

"The Armstrong Nebula?" Shepard asked with a frown. "I thought that was mostly unclaimed territory, especially after our campaign chased the pirates out of the area before they could use it as a base."

"You were in that?" Garrus asked in surprise, and Ashley had a similar question. She had heard about the Empire's efforts to clear the Armstrong Nebula of pirates. The Alliance had scouted and named the systems and the planets, but the Empire was in the way of most of the relay routes to it and there was no direct connection from Alliance space, so actually attempting to colonize those planets was out of the question. Then the Empire began sending troops into the region to clear out pirates, giving them a claim on the cluster as well. Neither side had pushed too hard for it, though, as most of the planets either required extensive terraforming to settle or were just not suited for settlement at all.

Shepard nodded. "I was, but that's for another time."

"_I've uploaded targets to the _Normandy,_"_ Hackett continued, _"and you're the only vessel that can do what we need. The Citadel is mustering a fleet to clear out the other relay routes and lock them down so the geth cannot launch another surprise attack like they've been doing for the last two weeks, but it's falling on the Empire and the Alliance to hit this cluster. We have two battle groups."_

The briefing screen behind Hackett's hologram activated and turned into a map of the galaxy, highlighting the locations of New Syracusae and Therum. _"One Alliance, one Imperial. Both are going to launch into the Armstrong Nebula simultaneously to clear out the geth in a shock attack. However, the geth have early warning sensor stations on each planet that will warn them about our attack and allow them to deploy their own ships to respond."_

"This is where we come in," Anderson began as Hackett gave him a nod. "The _Normandy_ is the only ship with the stealth capabilities to land and take out those stations. Conventional special forces would give the geth too much time to prepare, but we have the ability to hit the ground, blow up the sensor stations, and move on before the geth know what hit them. If we use the stealth drive right, they won't even be aware that they're being hit in series."

"How long will we have, Admiral?" Ashley asked as the briefing display showed the targets in the Armstrong Nebula. "FTL travel between systems may take too long."

"_The geth are using advanced hardware, too delicate for quick repairs,"_ Hackett explained. _"But once you take out two targets, both Admiral Attia's Imperial naval group and the Alliance fleet will attack at the same time, each of us hitting a different target. This will give you the time to move on to the next targets, keeping the geth confused and disoriented."_

"This is rather bold," Shepard noted as she leaned forward. "If there is any mistiming, Admiral, this could become extremely bloody for the fleets."

"_It may be, but it will be bloodier if we don't throw the geth off balance first. Besides, it's time to see what the _Normandy_ can do."_

Anderson took a step forward. "We may also be able to find more information about Saren through this mission, so it ties into our objectives as well."

"I was not objecting, Captain," Shepard elaborated, "just noting the risks involved."

"_You've got a half day to finish up your resupply on Sur'Kesh and make any preparations you need before moving out. Any other questions?"_ There were none. _"Good. Hackett out."_

The holoscreen faded and everyone looked around at each other briefly. "So," Nihlus said at last, walking through the center of the briefing room. "this is going to be a strike mission. No complications, just get in there and hit hard. However, some of those stations have geth data terminals. If possible, I want to get Tali into a position where she can access them."

Tali nodded. "I can do that."

"Also, Liara will be joining us on the ground. Her biotics should prove useful if those swarm bugs are deployed by the Collectors."

Ashley looked at the asari and fought down a sigh. Bringing a civilian with no military training to a commando raid screamed 'bad idea' to her. "If she's going to be on the ground with us, I want her properly equipped."

"Excuse me?" Liara said in surprise. "I can take care of myself and I have a kinetic barrier system in my omni-tool."

"Yeah, but your medical briefs aren't going to stop a bullet," Ashley retorted as she stood up. "If you're going to be coming with us, you should be properly equipped."

The briefing room was quiet, Nihlus simply folding his arms and watching until Liara finally shrugged and agreed.

XXXXXXX

_**Normandy**_** Engineering Bay**

"So, have you had _any_ training with guns?" Ashley asked as she laid out an extra set of standard Alliance marine kit and her spare light armor. All ships had few extra kits just in case they were needed, mostly to replace gear lost in combat, but also in case someone else needed to be equipped.

"Well, I do have a license for pistols, but no formal training with other types of weapons," Liara responded with a faint shrug as Emerson checked the range barriers before nodding and walking back to his post to check the new supplies.

"Formal? So you got informal training somewhere or some other experience?" Ashley asked for clarification as Kaidan, Jenkins, and Shepard came out of the elevator and were staying a distance behind the two.

"Well, they all operate on the same basic principle. Point the barrel at the target, pull the trigger, hope that that you hit the enemy. Don't ask me to be a marksman or to do precision shooting, though," the young asari said, shrugging her shoulders. "Most of the time I used a gun, there wasn't much time to think."

"I see," Ashley nodded. "We could try to give you a crash course, but it will take time before you would be able to actually use them effectively. Anyway, let's see how well you do with what we have here."

She went down the makeshift range and put a few targets up - painted sandbags suspended on a metal platform - and as she finished setting the last one she looked at the young woman "We'll use these for targets. Just aim for the red dot in the middle."

Liara nodded as Ashley walked back and looked at the kit before deciding on the Lancer assault rifle. She paused, deploying it and giving it a quick check to make sure it was one of the ones she and Jenkins had corrected for manufacturing flaws before handing it to Liara. The asari looked over the weapon for a moment, keeping the gun pointed down. _At least she knows basic gun safety,_ Ashley noticed in relief.

After taking a look at it and getting a feel for the grip, Liara took a stance, aimed downrange, squeezed the trigger, and... a faint click was heard as the weapon refused to fire.

"The safety is right here," Ashley said, pointing to the lever, trying not to laugh. Kaidan, Jenkins, and Shepard, not having to fear of being seen, were openly smiling as they watched on.

"Right, I'm used to batarian models..." Liara said slowly, taking the safety off and aiming again. She fired off several rounds, most of them missing the targets, before she put the safety on again.

"Well, at least you know how to handle it, but your aim could use some help," Ashley couldn't resist the jibe. Liara stood silent for a moment, eyes narrowed at her, before launching a biotic blast at the target and ripping it apart.

"I was never comfortable with guns anyway," Liara retorted, giving a faint smile as the gun undeployed and she gave it back to Ashley. Shepard was openly laughing at Jenkins' stunned expression, while Kaidan whistled.

"Are all asari that powerful?" Jenkins asked, looking at the remains of the target as he recovered. Mere scraps of what had been a sandbag were still glowing with the blue remains of the mass effect fields used to tear it apart. "I mean, that was just a sandbag, but… jeez."

"Um, that was just a normal biotic warp..." Liara shifted her feet, looking down. "I'm young by asari standards, so there is still much for me to learn."

"That is still very impressive," Shepard said, having calmed down. "I mean, human biotics can be powerful, but that's not the level of power I'd be able to put out constantly in a fight. Maybe if I put a lot into it, but I wouldn't be able to do nearly as many."

"Thank you," Liara said.

"Well, I think we can leave you with a pistol and let your biotics do the rest," Ashley said, taking the rifle and putting it away. She picked up a Kessler pistol, pausing when she noticed that it was Mark IV and not a Mark I. _Well,_ she thought, _at least for once the accountants are not leaving us with scraps._ "I don't know if you have your own cache somewhere, but that should do until we can get a better gun for you," she gave the pistol to Liara, who nodded.

"Kessler line, right? They are pretty common despite being from a new company."

"Really?"

"Yes. Not the most powerful, but cheap and reliable," Liara elaborated. Ashley felt some pride at the statement. The Alliance was not the most powerful or established power, but it's products were already well known as something worth getting.

"Alright, let's get you some armor," Ashley said to move on. "I'm afraid that at them moment we only have Alliance gear stowed and most of that is BDUs, so I hope you don't mind using my backup for now," Ashley said, lifting a breastplate for the light Onyx series armor she had been given to use in case of emergency. "Unless you can use heavier armor?"

"Not really," Liara admitted as Ashley put the breastplate down and grabbed the suit of kinetic padding that made up most of the armor, handing it to the asari. "Also, heavier armor would make it harder to use some of my biotics."

"Right, so light armor it is. Battle Dress won't cut it in hazardous environments."

After a few adjustments, Liara managed to get the armor on over her clothes and Ashley handed her the light breastplate, additional arm protection, boots, and helmet to add on over it. After it was all on, Liara walked around the engineering bay a few times, sometimes pausing to adjust part of the armor, sometimes pausing at the makeshift range and performing some basic biotics on the other sandbags.

"How does it feel?" Ashley asked as Liara let a sandbag she had biotically lifted drop back down.

"A little uncomfortable," she admitted uneasily. "I don't think we're the same size."

"Not too far off, though," Jenkins chimed in. "I mean, it's not loose or anything. Though, does it have the squish-skin under there?"

"Good point, we took it out for long-term storage," Ashley admitted as she considered the underlayer that allowed armor to seal up when penetrated, even in vacuum or other hazardous conditions, before exposure killed the wearer. "We'll need to get you a spare jumpsuit for it too. You'll wreck your clothes once the squish-skin is back in."

Liara nodded. "The suits I usually used didn't have it. Besides, I had a kinetic barrier system put into my omni-tool so I didn't need to wear armor when pirates showed up."

"Most archaeologists don't get shot at by geth troopers," Shepard chimed in. "But now that you are, you _will_ need it. It's uncomfortable, but it stops mild wounds from being lethal."

"And makes my job a lot easier, squish-skins are where most auto-applications of medi-gel come from," Kaidan added as he walked past and to his locker, pulling out a repair kit for his biotic amp. Jenkins likewise grabbed his shotgun and started installing the new ammo system for it that had been issued to him.

"Not to mention, we will end up in hostile environments. Synthetics have very little need for things like breathable atmosphere or reasonable temperature," Shepard nodded. "It's a bad time to have your suit unable to seal."

"Speaking from experience again?" Jenkins asked, pausing as he put down the Sledgehammer Ammo kit he was opening, his shotgun lying on the workbench. "Exactly how many firefights have you been in?"

"Too many to count," Shepard explained. "I'm a Knight of the Order of Hospitallers. We don't shy from a fight. It doesn't matter if it is a barely functioning space station, an asteroid, or a death world, we will come for you and come in force."

"Sounds like pretty hectic life," Liara commented as she started removing the armor plates. "I heard that the Hospitallers were actively fighting the 'Second Batarian Crusade', but I always assumed you had pauses, time to rest."

"_Second_ Batarian Crusade?" Ashley asked with a frown. "I thought you guys already brawled with them a few hundred years ago."

"The whole 'second' part is just media talk. It's nothing more than standard anti-piracy operations," Shepard said, waving her hand dismissively, "but there was a strong influx of new pirates and slavers few years back. A lot of action back then. Some volus newscasters started calling it 'The Second Batarian Crusade', but they don't know how the system works. Only the Emperor can call a Crusade, and in the history of the Empire, only one has been called."

"So, no round two?" Jenkins asked.

"Never finished round one," Shepard bitterly answered. "Well, technically the goal set by the Kedar the Third was achieved, but the damn Hegemony still stands."

"Wait, you guys _didn't_ conquer Hegemony, yet achieved your goals?" Ashley asked with a frown. She knew the Batarian Hegemony had survived - they were still 'not involved' in piracy on the space lanes or raids on farther out Alliance colonies - but from what she knew the Empire's crusade had been to destroy the Hegemony.

"Kedar the Third had declared that the goal of the Crusade was to 'put fear of God into slavers and other trash of the galaxy', if I remember my history teacher correctly," Liara explained. "They certainly succeeded in that. Piracy and slave raids within Citadel Alliance territory dropped to their all time low for a few decades after the official end of the hostilities."

"We should have pushed in and finished it then and there," Shepard muttered. "But the Council clamped on it and well, after the Knights of Terra were almost destroyed by the turians for refusing to stand down, there really was no way to finish the war. So it went to the peace tables."

"Technically there never was a war. Formal declarations of war were never issued," Liara pointed out as she began to pull off the padded suit. "Not that you could really hide that from the public."

"Wait, the Council put an end to your attempts to end slavery? What the hell?" Ashley asked in surprise. Kaidan briefly paused and looked at the conversation before turning back to his amp.

"It was starting to escalate into a full galactic war..." Shepard admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "The whole thing was starting spill out of the border territories and I guess the Council didn't want that mess on their hands. Then again, you should probably ask Wrex for the details, he was alive back then. He might know better. I just read the history."

"So, now that we had our history lesson," Kaidan said, clapping his hands, "what about your amp, Doctor? You do use them, right?"

"Yes. I actively use my biotics, for work and defense, so I use an amp to give me that extra boost," Liara explained

"Work?" Shepard asked.

"Lifting rocks with biotics is much more effective than waiting a few hours to get machinery to the site. And it's a lot more gentle," Liara elaborated as she made sure the padded suit of the armor was rightside out and handed it to Ashley. "I currently have one I got from my mother as a gift when I was seventy. Back then it was one of the best, but technology marches on."

Kaidan nodded. "But the asari don't need them, right? You guys, er, girls, are natural biotics."

"If we choose to train with them, yes," Liara answered uncomfortably as Ashley put the suit on the workbench.

"If you _choose?_" Kaidan asked in surprise. "That's kind of surprising."

Ashley nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, you have that kind of power. Why wouldn't you learn to use it? Is there some kind of side-effect of asari biotics, 'cause that'll be the first I heard of it."

"We learn basic control in school, but actually using it to the level you are probably used to in the military is not as common as you would think. Besides, even the asari need bio-amps to get the most out of our powers. Without one we're still potent, but it would be mostly basic biotics."

"That's…" Kaidan trailed off before shrugging. "Well, I guess having the power innately makes a different perspective." He turned back to his tool kit, nodded as he finished, and pushed his hair up so he could slip the amp back into the cybernetic insert at the base of his neck.

XXXXXXXXX

**Rayingri, Gagarin System**

**A Few Days Later**

The rest of the trip had been quite uneventful, with the only changes from the norm being Mordin settling in and beginning to compile the reports that the Citadel's own scientists had managed to create on the paralyzing bugs that had been deployed to Therum. Mordin had given them a call sign - Seekers - and said he even had the first steps to a countermeasure. All he needed was time and samples. No one was eager to go hunting Seeker Swarms, though.

However, as soon as they entered the Gagarin System, Anderson had ordered them to prepare for an airdrop. Nihlus said he was nominally going to lead the mission, but he was going to leave most of the details to his candidates. Both Ashley and Shepard were somewhat uneasy; both of them knew that dual commands had the unfortunate habit of becoming dueling commands.

"So, Liara, you ever been in an orbital drop?" Ashley asked as they settled into the Mako to make a landing in a flat valley floor near their target.

"No?" the young asari asked uncertainly in her new armor.

Ashley grinned maliciously (the grin hidden by her rebreather) as she glanced at Kaidan, whose eyes went wide as Joker began counting down. "Oh no," Kaidan said, "You are not going to…"

As soon as Joker counted to zero, Ashley shoved the throttle to full and the Mako shot out of the _Normandy_ roughly, bouncing briefly on the launch rails before beginning atmospheric freefall and Liara started to scream. A long, high pitched shriek as they hurtled towards the surface.

The Mako landed on the flat ground at the bottom of a valley with a bounce, skidding forward before Ashley slammed on the brakes and the Mako came to a sudden stop, shaking everyone inside around.

"Wasn't so bad, was it?" Ashley asked with a wide smirk as she turned her head to look back at the asari, who had finally stopped screaming and from what Ashley could see through the visor was a rather pale shade of blue, sagging in her seat and hyperventilating, eyes darting in every direction desperately.

"That was mean," Kaidan said as she saw his eyebrows furrowing as if he was frowning.

"Kinda fun, though," Tali admitted. "And not nearly as bad as roller coasters. You just go one way, no getting thrown in everywhere."

"Can we do it again?" Wrex asked before chuckling.

"Doctor, you okay?" Ashley asked as she realized Liara was still quiet. "Doc?"

"I'm… I'm fine. Could you warn me, next time?" she asked shakily, clearly rattled by the whole ordeal.

"The pilot was counting down to a drop," Nihlus commented. "Though that was rather rough," he gave her a narrow gaze and Ashley shrugged unapologetically.

"Consider it a warm up for getting shot at," Garrus chimed in. "Besides, we do worse to our new meat in the Turian Fleet."

Liara did not seem reassured as Ashley turned her attention back to driving and began to move the Mako out of the valley and towards their target, a research station set up to observe the effects of the rogue planetoid that would in a few hundred years wreck both planets. The geth had taken it and used its advanced sensors as their first line of defense against attacks from Imperial space as the relay route to New Syracusae was in the Gagarin System.

"So uh, Shepard," Jenkins asked from the gun turret, "what do you knights do to the newbies?"

"Depends on the Order, though generally any pranks happen before they become knights. And usually not during missions," Shepard answered with a shrug. "Though, I could easily see one of us doing a fast drop to a squire on his first mission."

Kaidan glanced back. "I thought knights were your grunts for Chivalric Orders."

"Trainees in the field," Tali explained. "Initiates are basically boot camp, squires are those taken under a knight's command to get some experience in the field before formally being inducted."

"Well, Joker's punchline is becoming more and more accurate…" Kaidan said in amusement as he turned back towards the sensor screen.

"And we thought Mars was red," Jenkins commented as they cleared the valley and started driving towards towards the plateau that the outpost had been set on. "This place looks like it's drowned in blood and I've got nothing in sight."

"It will be when the fleets hit," Shepard commented grimly. "Though at least we should expect only light geth resistance outside."

"Inside, who knows…" Ashley agreed as they began driving towards a long, winding path up the hill marked with simple roadside beacons. The only way to reach the station without rock climbing gear or jet packs.

"Nothing active on scanner," Kaidan answered before Ashley could ask. "I'm getting a little creeped out. You'd think that the geth would have a patrol at least."

"It's a trap," Wrex said. "They want us to roll right in."

Ashley slowed the Mako down and glanced back. "So, spring the trap or try something else?"

"I say spring the trap," Garrus said. "If we're alert, we can catch it before it starts and pound them."

"You don't walk into a trap without a backup plan," Nihlus retorted as he activated his omni-tool and brought up a map of the local region. "Garrus, see anywhere for your sniper rifle?"

The turian in blue armor glanced over as Ashley brought the Mako behind a rock formation and parked it so she could turn and join the planning.

"I'm not seeing anywhere," Ashley said with a frown. "The outpost was well placed; high ground all around and the nearest vantage point is too far for Garrus' sniper rifle."

"I could make the shot," Garrus said before shaking his head. "But not fast enough to provide cover. What about the Mako? Vehicles in open terrain can engage at far longer ranges."

"Not accurately enough for what we need, though," Jenkins retorted as he glanced down.

"What about we split into two teams, one comes in behind the Mako while the Mako team drives right in?" Shepard suggested. "Then if the trap is sprung, the second team can come in and help, maybe even trap the trappers."

"Works for me. I'll work with the first team," Ashley said.

"I'm not sure," Shepard responded. "I think something like our assault team on Chora's Den would work better. Just add someone to man the turret."

"Then the Mako becomes a sitting duck without a driver."

"Yes, the Mako would be more exposed, but it has stronger shields as well as thicker armor. It can take the pounding better."

"But it can't maneuver out of the way and it we lose Mako, we aren't getting another one for the rest of the operation."

"Neither can we replace any of our losses," Shepard pointed out.

Kaidan raised his hand. "This isn't getting us anywhere, and the more we wait the more likely it is the geth will find us. What about mixing the plans? There's good points to both."

Ashley paused and looked at the map. "How about two teams, double bluff?"

"What do you have in mind?" Shepard asked as she looked at the map thoughtfully, putting a hand on her chin.

"We have the Mako poke them from beyond the perimeter, which will cause them to focus on it. Then the second team slips in and blows stuff up. As the geth respond to our 'real' attack, the Mako busts in and goes nuts. They will be in disarray until they can figure who to target first, which should give us enough time to gain the upperhand."

Shepard though for a moment, before nodding. "That'd work. We just need the two teams. The two of us, Wrex, and Nihlus for the on foot team?"

Ashley nodded as Garrus checked his sniper rifle again and she smirked faintly as she recalled that he had been Nihlus' gunner before. "Okay, Jenkins, you'll drive, Kaidan, you command the team here. Garrus, you're on the gun."

"What about me?" Liara asked uneasily as Tali was checking her omni-tool.

"You just… stay inside," Ashley said. "If you and Tali head out, though, stick together."

Nihlus nodded approvingly. "Let's move."

After switching places and checking to make sure their helmets were properly sealed, Jenkins drove the Mako out towards an outcropping closer to the outpost for the ground team to get off of. Ashley pulled out her sniper rifle and each of them gave a nod as the Mako drove off. Jenkins was going to loop around and engage on the opposite side so it did not seem like they were preparing to storm up the hill.

A few minutes later, they heard an explosion and Shepard nodded. "That's the signal," she said.

"Let's go," Ashley said as they moved up the hill, carefully staying a few feet apart from each other as they moved up. As the Mako was firing from afar, aiming for the exposed . Ashley had to fight down a feeling that there was a hidden machine gun somewhere waiting to pop out and turn them into swiss cheese, but nothing happened as they moved up to the top of the hill.

"Nothing?" Wrex asked in surprise.

"Mako, cease fire and move up," Nihlus ordered.

"_Copy,"_ Garrus answered over the radio as the Mako stopped firing.

"This is disconcerting," Shepard said as they carefully moved forward. Ashley switched to her shotgun as they began to check corners and clear their way towards the door, regularly looking at the scanners linked to their helmets for booby traps.

"Agreed; this is way too easy."

"Wire it and go home?" Wrex asked.

"We need to make sure it stays destroyed, there may be interior scanners," Nihlus cut in. "I think it's time we got a look at what's inside the building. Williams, cover me, I'm going to make sure the door is clear."

"Got it," Ashley said as she followed the turian to the door and he began to scan it carefully as the Mako drove up.

"_Anyone else getting a feeling we are walking into a trap?"_ Jenkins asked over the comm system as the Mako parked and it's hatch opened. _"I mean, there's lightly defended and then there's empty..."_

"Yeah... these sites are critical for the geth if they want an advance warning about possible counter-assaults. So where are the defenders? Where is _anyone_?" Shepard asked uneasily. "It doesn't even look like they left in a hurry or something like that."

"That's good, right?" Liara asked as she and Tali walked up to the group. "I mean, if they abandoned this, maybe they're pulling out entirely, so the fleets won't lose anyone sweeping the area?"

Nihlus shook his head as the door opened and he switched programs on his omni-tool. "Sometimes abandoning valuable fortifications is tactically advantageous, even if the enemy gets them, but that's never a first resort. We're going to need to clear the building. Tali, Alenko, omni-tools active and scanning. This place may be booby-trapped."

"Mines?" Liara asked as she looked around fearfully.

"Not in a building," Ashley retorted. "And mine fields aren't nearly as good as they used to be; modern scanners pick them up too easily. Nah, if you're gonna booby-trap, you do it in tight quarters where the scan might bounce against a wall. Then you step through the door - BOOM - you're a smear against the wall."

Liara took a step back at the thought. "But, wouldn't then you want the opponent be unwary? As in, not instantly suspecting a trap? You said it yourself, this feels like a trap."

"Time to spring the trap," Shepard said as she nodded inside. "It's too obvious to be explosives. Whatever it is, they want us inside for it. Tali, can you jam the door open?"

"That'll compromise the interior's atmosphere," the quarian warned as she walked up to the door, omni-tool active.

"Maybe, but it'll also make sure that we can't be sealed in and any scientists here are dead already."

"No objections here," Ashley said as she reached for her shotgun and checked to make sure the new ammo was working properly. "Who's going first?"

"I'll go first," Wrex said. "I can actually take a hit."

The team moved in quietly, Nihlus and Shepard behind Wrex with Nihlus' omni-tool actively scanning. Jenkins was in the back with Kaidan watching their flanks while the rest were in the middle. The scanners remained quiet, however, as they entered the prefabricated lab building and through the tunnel-like halls.

"Hold on," Nihlus said before they reached a door. "I'm picking up a lot of space ahead. Large room, lots of shipping crates." Something fell over on the other side and everyone aimed their weapons towards it.

"Geth?" Liara asked fearfully.

"No…" Nihlus said. "Wrex, open the door."

The krogan nodded and hit the switch. The door opened… and there was a husk right there. The krogan blew it away with his shotgun, the newly added incendiaries sending the husk a meter back and causing it to burn up as the krogan stormed forward and the rest of the team filled into the room, taking up firing positions down the only way forward. Except for Liara, who was in the middle of the group and standing somewhat awkwardly.

"Husks. Of course," Shepard muttered as they could hear the distorted screams of more ahead.

"One way forward too," Ashley said as she took in the situation. "Hey Shepard, has the Empire ever done a shotgun phalanx?"

The knight turned. "Plenty of times, but we're short on riot shields. We do have biotics, though…" the knight looked towards Liara and Kaidan. "Alenko, do you think you could make us a forward biotic barrier? Something we can use for cover?"

"A full bubble?" Kaidan asked in surprise. "like Therum?"

"No, just the front," Shepard answered as the first of the husks ran out from a corner ten meters forward and was promptly mowed down by a burst from Garrus' assault rifle. Kaidan nodded and stepped forward.

"You and Wrex reinforce it," Ashley added, "the rest of us should be able to keep the flank clear and provide more fire."

"I'll take the middle," Wrex said. "Stay behind me," he added to Kaidan as the biotic began to create the barrier.

"Shepard, you go on the left, I'll go on the right," Nihlus said. "Jenkins, watch our rear."

"Got it!" he answered as the team fell into formation as the first wave of husks ran out from the corner. Ashley took a position behind Shepard with her assault rifle and fired over the knight's shoulder as the knight lowered herself to a half-crouch as the team began to push forward.

None of the husks reached Kaidan's barrier, but it suddenly flashed as a turian husk leaned out from around the first corner before ducking back in.

"Spirits!" Garrus cursed, "They've made turian husks?!"

"Armed ones too!" Nihlus added between bursts from his shotgun.

"I see it," Liara said as she reached a hand forward as the turian husk leaned out of cover again, obscuring it in a blue aura and hurling it into the wall of crates behind it. Shepard took the chance to fire at it as the wave of husks slowed and the turian husk stopped moving.

"Husks above!" Jenkins called out. Ashley turned and aimed high as husks were climbing over the crates. "Tali, look out!"

Tali fired her shotgun as one of the husks leapt at her. While the blast hit, the momentum kept it moving forward and it crashed against the quarian, but she was able to stagger to the side and avoid getting knocked to the floor as another husk, a quarian one, came over and aimed its left hand at her. Tali hit the floor as a disc hit her square in the chest and shocked her.

"My shields!" Tali shouted in surprise as she landed on the ground. Liara had sent the quarian husk flying away with a biotic throw and Ashley was spraying her shots down along the top of the crates as they were almost to the corner, shotgun blasts still pounding away as they advanced forward.

"Those quarian husks have omni-tools, watch yourself!" Jenkins warned as a few husks dropped in from behind and he fired at them before they could get too close.

"Is this a trap?" Liara asked as they rounded the corner slowly.

"No idea, but keep blasting!" Ashley answered as a human husk that was climbing stopped as they fully rounded the corner and leapt towards the group. One glowing orange and exploding as it hit the barrier.

"Kaidan!" Ashley shouted as he landed on his knee. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he shot back. "What the hell was that?"

"Some sort of exploding husk!" Garrus answered as shot down another turian husk that had taken up a firing position down the corridor.

"Suicide bombers," Shepard spat in disgust as Liara released a biotic shockwave against the wave of husks charging their front. "They're making us God-damn _suicide bombers!_"

Ashley grit her teeth. "Liara, watch for more of them. If you see one, throw it away from us!"

"Commander, take up the firing line, I'll watch our left!" Garrus said and Ashley nodded. Most new husks would be coming from their left side, which Garrus was in a better position to cover than her.

They kept moving forward, pushing through the winding maze of crates as more husks were thrown at them. Shepard and Wrex occasionally shored up the barrier ahead when several of the turian husks showed up at once, but Liara, despite her inexperience, proved her worth when that happened. Besides throwing husks that got too close away from them or staggering waves with biotic shockwaves, she managed to catch the turian husks as they tried to set up firing lines with biotic singularities, lifting them into the air and making them easy pickings for Jenkins or Nihlus. They reached the end of the maze and the room had fallen quiet. Kaidan dropped to a knee as he let his barrier down.

"You okay?" Shepard asked as she looked at the Alliance biotic.

"I'm fine," he said as he put a hand on his head. "Barrier duty just isn't what I usually do. Takes some getting used to."

"The asari usually have specialists do it," Garrus commented as Tali began hacking the next door open, adjusting which algorithm she was using on her omni-tool to keep the security system from recognizing a specific pattern. "Still an impressive job, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, thanks," he said as he looked around. "Those were some pretty powerful biotics, doc. You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, rather weakly to Ashley's surprise. "I mean, we cleared them all out, right?"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Ashley answered as Tali finished and the door opened, revealing a large storeroom with more crates. Long, rectangular ones with a number of them left open.

And all of them had the same insignia on them, unlike the multitude of different ones that had been used to box them in earlier. Each crate had an elongated orange hexagon, cut in half vertically with some white space in between and a smaller brown one on top of it, also bisected by the white space. And both halves stood on their points.

"That's a lot of Binary Helix gear," Nihlus commented in surprise. "But where are the contents?"

"We fought a _lot_ of husks," Wrex grumbled. "Too many for a science outpost."

"Definitely too many to be a science team," Jenkins added. "And we haven't seen any of those spike things."

"This is the central room, console up ahead," Tali noted. "Want me to check it out?"

"I'll cover you," Shepard said as they cautiously moved forward. Ashley noticed that Liara was standing right next to her.

"Hey, T'Soni, wider interval," Ashley said as she recognized the rookie mistake being made.

"Huh?" Liara asked.

"If a grenade lands here, do you want to be right next to me?" she explained. "Keep some distance in between."

"Right," Liara said as she uncertainly moved a few steps back and Ashley smirked to herself. _Well, she's doing alright so far, for a civvie._

Tali accessed the console and began to work through it and the team waited tensely, taking up defensive positions around the central computer.

"Interesting," Tali said. "There's a manifest here. It's only partial, whoever deleted this from the computer's recycling bin missed a few bits. But I managed to salvage one piece. _'New results from Noveria to be tested here'_."

"Noveria?" Shepard asked in surprise. "That independent trade world between salarian and Imperial space?"

"The same," Tali confirmed. "I also managed to access the local controls and I should be able to overload the systems. Then the Normandy can finish it off with an airstrike once we're out of here."

"But why test them here?" Ashley asked with a frown. "I mean, Rayingri isn't exactly hazardous besides the air not being breathable."

"Not a bad control environment, though," Garrus commented. "Hazardous enough to see if they can handle EVA, but not so hazardous that it'll fall apart easily." He paused and looked to Nihlus. "Spectre Kryik?"

"Saren invested heavily into Binary Helix," the turian Spectre explained. "I think we just found our next lead. Download all the data you can before overloading the system."

"No problem," Tali said when a loud shriek echoed throughout the room.

"What was that?" Liara asked as she raised her pistol and started pointing it in every direction.

"It sounded like someone screamed," Wrex commented as he raised his shotgun and started looking around.

"I don't see anything," Jenkins said. "I don't suppose we have a camera or something?"

"There's two side rooms," Tali commented as she adjusted the computer. "That one's clear and… uh oh_._"

"What?" Kaidan, Ashley, and Garrus all asked at once.

"More husks incoming!" Tali warned as the pointed to her left, "from there!"

"Take cover!" Ashley ordered as she everyone scrambled to whatever cover was available, mostly the crates with the Binary Helix logo that now felt uncomfortably like stacks of coffins to her. The door ahead began to open before closing suddenly.

"Hah," Tali said confidently. "Let's see them get through t..."

The door exploded and flew towards them. Tali barely managed to leap clear as it crashed into the console and wrecked it, but Ashley found herself staring at what was standing there.

Another new husk. This one standing head and shoulders above the rest… and resembling an asari. But rather than the common assortment of blue and occasionally purple skin tones common amongst the oldest Citadel species, this one was all molting grey with bits of synthetic parts across the body, even a few tubes around the neck that were uncomfortably similar to geth infantry designs. Its body looked emaciated, as if all fat and extra muscles had been removed.

She could feel her muscles tensing, preparing the age old _'fight or flight' _reaction, but she fought the feeling down instinctively. She could not afford to let her body panic now.

"By the Goddess…" Liara said as her eyes went wide in horror. "What… what is that?!"

"Asari husk! FIRE!" Nihlus ordered and the entire team opened fire. The asari husk simply raised its hand, however, and a biotic field surrounded it and took all their fire. Liara stood for a moment, biotic energy building around her before she unleashed it at the new husk as the rest of them - almost all of the new husks human versions with lab coats and similar.

The asari husk's barrier took the hit and the husk staggered backwards as the energy warped around the barrier before it built up towards the asari itself. Then it vanished in a flash of blue.

And Ashley suddenly found herself flying backwards as a blue blur completely obstructed her view and she hit a crate behind her, landing on her backside as she looked up in time to see Liara screaming and falling backwards, scrambling away from the monster as the husks were charging them.

"Fall back!" Shepard shouted as the husk turned towards Tali and charged again. The quarian narrowly evaded the charge, throwing herself to the side as the husk hit the crates and knocked them over, turning towards her and releasing a burst of biotic energy which ripped apart her kinetic barrier.

"My shields!" Tali shouted as she scrambled backwards and towards the door.

"Tali, remember your training!" Shepard shouted as she and Wrex moved towards the husk.

Ashley felt someone grab her and looked up to see Kaidan helping her up as the krogan charging the creature and hitting it with a heatbutt, followed by Shepard slashing its arm with her omni-blade. The asari husk took it and staggered backwards before it screamed again. Wrex and Shepard both staggered backwards as a biotic shock wave rippled from the shrieking husk, the krogan managing to stay standing and Shepard falling to a knee before pushing herself back up.

"Move!" Ashley ordered, "Organized retreat, we're bugging out!"

They ran back towards the door out, Jenkins first to the door. He turned around there and began to lay down covering fire, joined shortly after by Garrus. Liara, however, ran right past them and did not turn around, not even at the door ahead.

"T'SONI!" Nihlus shouted angrily as he and Tali moved past Wrex and Garrus, "Where are you going!?"

"She panicked!" Kaidan answered as he and Ashley made it past. Shepard was right behind them, firing her shotgun before releasing her own biotic shockwave as the asari husk was slowly marching towards them. The other husks had gotten ahead, and were caught up in the shockwave and the first few thrown backwards into the ones behind them. Taking the chance to fall back, Wrex and Garrus followed them out and once at the other door kept moving while Ashley and Shepard took the position of rear guard.

"Jenkins, go after her!" Ashley ordered. The corporal nodded and hurried after the asari archeologist while Ashley turned back to face the asari husk, which was beginning to glow again. "She's about to charge!"

"Split into the Chora's Den teams; overwatch runs first!" Shepard ordered. Ashley didn't even think about arguing, she just fell back as Wrex moved up to fill her position. Tali also ran with them, joining her, Kaidan, and Garrus as they fell back towards the first corner.

The asari husk charged again, this time aiming for Wrex, but the krogan took the charge with only a stagger before retaliating with a biotically charged punch, causing the asari husk to stagger back into the doorway.

"We're at the first corner, pull back!" Ashley called as they reached the end, fighting down the urge to keep going and instead turned with her assault rifle in hand. The other three began to run back, Tali firing a tech attack that hit the asari's biotic barrier and seemed to deplete it.

"Nice dampening!" Kaidan said as he threw another biotic attack at one of the husks that had gone by, throwing it into the asari one. The larger husk was barely phased by the attack, screaming at them again as the other half of the team passed them and hurried to the next corner.

"Oh shut up!" Garrus snarled as he put his assault rifle away and quickly drew his sniper rifle, aiming a shot directly for the husk's mouth and firing a round directly into it. The bullet went through the asari husk's mouth and out the other end… and it kept screaming as it began to glowed again. Ashley had to fight down the urge to run; she had to hold until the next team was in position.

"Drop back!" Shepard called and they ran back before it could charge, quickly coming under the covering fire of the other team. The two teams traded off, one laying down suppressing fire to keep the husk from directly charging them, the other made tracks to the next corner and they kept trading off. But any thought of counterattack had left their minds, just keeping the now lone husk at range. Even with all the fire they directed at it, however, and the wear and tear it was beginning to show, it had the team on the ropes.

The husk was able to close in, even if only for a short time before they somehow forced it back or get clear. Tali hitting it in the face with a shotgun blast followed by Kaidan using a neural shock before legging it. Shepard punching it with a biotically-backed omni-blade strike. Ashley pie-ing it in the face with a grenade before throwing herself clear (and getting a load of shrapnel in her hardsuit for her troubles). Despite every trick they did and the amount of incendiary shotgun rounds Shepard and Wrex had put into it, it was still coming even as its skin burned away.

"Almost there!" Kaidan said as it was their turn to fall back and the first ones to fall back out of the maze and to the room connecting to the airlock.

"Here it comes!" Shepard shouted and Nihlus attacked it as it came out of its charge against Shepard, sending her skidding back along the hallway. Ashley turned as she reached the end of the hall way to set up a firing line as Nihlus used his jet boots to leap behind the husk, grabbing one of the tubes on the way, and looped around to reach the ceiling, yanking it off its feet before Wrex headbutted it. The tube broke off and the asari husk howled - in pain, this time - as it staggered back.

"We're in position!" Garrus called, and the three holding the line for them booked it. As soon as they were clear, the husk had picked itself up and there was biotic energy spilling from the broken tube as it glowed and vanished…

The biotic burst shot right past them and Ashley suddenly noticed the man that had been standing next to her was gone.

"Kaidan!" She shouted as she turned in horror to see him landing on his backside, staggering up just in time for the asari husk to smack him with a biotic backhand and knock him into the wall. Ashley dropped her assault rifle and grabbed her shotgun, aiming high as Tali did the same. The two bursts bounced off the thing's biotic barrier as it reached down and grabbed him by his helmet before slamming him into the wall again. Ashley ran up close and aimed low to try and take the legs out from under it. It's biotic barriers broke and a sniper round sailed into the back of the creatures head, taking off some of the creature's fringe.

The husk turned as Garrus had drawn his sniper rifle and was in a crouch to steady his aim as heat vented from his sniper rifle. The husk charged again, but it did not complete its charge and instead hit the wall to Garrus' right… and Wrex, a biotic glow fading from him as he rushed forward, rammed it into the wall before taking a step back and plugging it in the chest with a shotgun burst.

Shepard came in right behind the krogan, omni-blade active and driving it right into the monster's chest. The husk reacted and grabbed Shepard's arm, flinging her away, but it had opened a hole that Ashley threw a grenade into, the disc shaped charge landing in the open wound and sticking. Before it could attack again, Nihlus and Tali both fired their shotguns at it, staggering it again before the grenade detonated and the husk exploded into two parts, the horrific shriek still echoing as shrapnel bounced off their kinetic barriers.

Borderline hyperventilating, Ashley lowered her shotgun as the creature's death registered in her mind. The moment it did, she rushed towards Kaidan and activated her omni-tool. "Don't be dead don't be dead…" she muttered as she knelt next to him and grabbed a dose of omni-gel, sticking it into her omni-tool and quickly applying it to where his armor had cracked from the trauma. She checked the heads-up display in her helmet as she adjusted it to focus on Kaidan's vitals and sighed in relief as they stabilized. Low, but stable.

"We better get him out of here," Shepard said as she walked up behind her, the asari husk burning up from within and collapsing into a pile of ashes.

"I got him," Ashley said as she carefully moved her arms under him and lifted him up onto her shoulder. "Let's go."

They walked out (Garrus stopping to grab Ashley's dropped assault rifle), and Ashley found herself expecting the Mako to be long gone as they walked out as the adrenaline ebbed from her body and she had a chance to think. "This is why we don't bring civilians to the battlefield," she bitterly muttered as they approached the jammed open airlock.

"In fairness," Tali started before Ashley glared at her and the quarian backed off. They stepped outside and the Mako was still there, main gun pointed towards the door and parked. The rear hatch opened and both Liara and Jenkins came out.

"Shit, is he okay?" Jenkins asked as he saw them walking towards them.

"If we can get him to Chakwas fast enough," Ashley said, "Prep the Mako, we need to make tracks so the _Normandy_ can finish this."

Liara's face was mostly obscured by the breath mask in her helmet, but Ashley could see the horror in the young asari's eyes. Ashley simply glared at the asari as she walked past and Shepard called Joker for extraction.

XXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_Now before you ask, "Why did Liara panic? She never panicked in game!" Well, yeah. Mass Effect never portrayed squadmates as having a panic moment during gameplay when things went really bad. But think about what you would do if you were pitted against a Banshee, especially one that just casually knocked aside the heavily armored marine who was next to you, and had shrugged off your biotic attack. Unlike everyone else who is military (Shepard, Ashley, Jenkins, Kaidan), ex-military (both turians, Wrex) or has had military-like training (Tali), Liara is literally a total civilian. She was never prepared to go into battle, never mind fight reanimated horrors. While we may have written Liara to panic, it's not because we think she's a coward. She's just not a trained professional who's had enough experience to not panic when things go pear-shaped. This is still Mass Effect 1 Liara, the wide-eyed naive, idealist archeologist. This is not the cynical and battle hardened "I will kill you with my mind" information dealer of Mass Effect 2 and 3._

_And yes, we did have the Luna VI done by someone else. We won't be able to do every sidequest from the game, though if we can integrate some of the missions into the story in a way to advance the main plot, we will. The reason the Luna VI wasn't done by the Normandy crew was that it just did not make sense to ask a foreign Spectre for aid in the situation._

_Also, we have no intent of doing an extended writeup for each outpost. We will show each one, but it's not going to be nearly as in depth as the Rayingri one. We learned from New Syracusae and there isn't much else we can glean from the outposts._

_Thank you to In Defilade, unity9, the guest reviewer, JoshRand1982, ForTheHonor, RheasHelm, reality deviant, and scottusa1 for their feedback and reviewers. We appreciate it. Additionally, the first few chapters were given a revision to clean them up thanks to the help of our Beta Reader over on Spacebattles. Most of the changes were grammar fixes and some minor tweaking to polish it, nothing major was changed._

_The Codex entry for this chapter is on the Batarian Crusade, as several people have asked for more information on it. While not thorough in actual details, it does provide a broad overview._

**Codex: Batarian Crusade**

A decade long conflict between the Holy Star Empire of Jerusalem and the Batarian Hegemony, the Crusade is often cited as exemplifying the Star Empire's flaws but also its intents. The Crusade was called by the Emperor Kadar III, with the stated goal being to end _"the immoral practice of enslaving of God fearing people"_. While slavery is often cited as the reason for the war, many historians claim that the war had been long coming given that the Hegemony had faced the brunt of the blowback from the Star Empire's founding and the actions that lead to it. While initially not aimed at the Batarian Hegemony itself, the Empire soon found itself in direct conflict with "volunteer batarian nationals" who engaged Imperial forces attempting to destroy hubs near Hegemony space. In response, the Empire claimed to be "liberating" Hegemony worlds that had been "occupied" by slavers.

The Crusade did not succeed in destroying the Hegemony or slavery. While the Star Empire was able to break down batarian defenses, the batarians retaliated by exploiting weaknesses in the Star Empire's doctrinal holdovers from their pre-spaceflight times. While the Empire adjusted to batarian hired mercenaries raiding their colonies and less protected worlds, the batarians were able to regroup and stalemate the Empire once they were forced to fight galactic war properly.

The war ended when numerous "inner colonies" in Citadel Space came under the attack by these mercenaries. The Council ordered an immediate cessation of the hostilities, enforced by a sizable turian peacekeeping force. While the conflict did not end immediately, the near total destruction of a Chivalric Order, the Knights of Terra, brought both sides to negotiation in fear of a much more thorough reprisal. The war ended with the Batarian Hegemony regaining its lost worlds and the slaves taken from Imperial colonies released, and peace returned for a time with slaver raids at an all time low for several decades afterwards. As often later cited, neither the Empire or the Hegemony signed a peace treaty, due to lack of official declaration of war by either side. Indeed, the official treaty that signed the end of the hostilities is marked as a non-aggression treaty.

However, the war is sometimes seen as a failure by the Citadel Council to uphold peace inside its borders. Others cite the fact that once turians intervened to end the conflict, peace was brokered in two weeks despite vast areas of space the conflict has spread to in its ten year duration. Indeed, turian politicians often cite the turian intervention in the Batarian Crusade when attempting to stop new conflicts from growing in size, as the sheer force brought to bear had forced two powers to back down. Meanwhile, the Empire maintains that its goal of putting fear into slavers was achieved as it showed the galaxy that slavery was not safe. Slavery continues in the galaxy to this day, though there was a significant reduction once the Empire finished recovering from the war and began working with turian patrols, even when raids began to pick up again.


	17. Armstrong Nebula: Geth Outposts II

_**Normandy**_** Medical Bay**

"He's waking up again!" Ashley warned. Chakwas simply nodded and held her omni-tool over the injured marine on the gurney as he groaned.

"Urgh, I feel like I was ran over by a dreadnought driven by a drunk trucker..." Kaidan muttered, holding his head as he slipped back into consciousness.

"I'm afraid it was nothing as kind as that," Ashley retorted. "How're you feeling?"

"I am hurting in places that I didn't know could hurt, but I think I'm otherwise okay. What happened?" Ashley just rolled her eyes at Kaidan's question.

"Same thing that I explained the last ten times. That asari husk did a real number on you. We managed to kill it, but not before it thrashed you." He had been waking up and losing consciousness repeatedly for the last ten minutes. Chakwas was busy stabilizing him during that time, but the blunt trauma was causing short term memory loss, or at least that was the layman version that Chakwas had provided.

"You do not have any permanent injuries, thankfully," Chakwas explained while checking his vitals, which were finally stabilized, "and your combat injuries are already healing, but you are going to be bruised for some time even after those heal. I suggest that you do not use your biotics heavily for the next few days until we're sure that your implant is not damaged. Preferably, you would not take part in any combat operations at all, but I doubt I can stop you."

"Thanks doc," Kaidan answered as he leaned back down on the gurney. "So, what now?"

"We're heading for our next target, it's going to take a day, maybe a day and a half, depending on how accurately we hit our target point."

"Ouch," Kaidan winched as he tried to move his arm. "Never thought I would be jealous of a krogan's regen. What about the others?"

"Everyone else is fine, compared to you at least. Everyone has bruises and like that, but nothing crippling. Except Liara," Ashley said, balling her hand into a fist before realizing what she was doing and relaxing it. "She got away uninjured, and I need to chew her out over Rayingri."

"Hey, skipper, calm down," Kaidan said, raising his hand and wincing again before putting it back down. "I get it, you're angry, but you really shouldn't be."

"Oh, and why is that?" Ashley asked incredulously. "She run away and we had to send Jenkins to make sure she didn't get killed, leaving us two people down. If she had been there to provide support, you might not be here."

"Yeah, that's one _if_ and one _might_ there," Kaidan countered. "Might as well be her here. Look, she's a civilian. You know what that means."

"Yeah," Ashley relented, dropping her shoulders. "I still think she should be kept onboard the _Normandy_. She's a liability in the field."

"That's because she isn't a soldier. She hasn't had the training we have. The worst she's seen is a few disorganized raiding parties by pirates, hardly comparable to mechanical undead horrors capable of wrecking a group of highly skilled specialists."

Ashley sighed, she knew Kaidan had a point and that she would have to admit it, but she didn't want to do it just yet. "Yeah. Tali was about to freak out too, until Shepard managed to rally her."

"See?"

"Fine, I admit it, I shouldn't be angry with her," Ashley said finally, throwing her arms in the air. As she let them drop down, she smiled faintly. "You happy now?"

"Just let me bask in the glow of being right and we're cool," Kaidan said, smirking widely.

"Ha ha," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Still, I need to talk to her. We can't risk her panicking like that again. You know what I mean. We can't fight the geth, Collectors and... whatever the hell these abominations are while also babysitting her."

"I guess it's your turn to be right," Kaidan admitted. "Still, she is a civilian. Fighting is not something you are 'born into'. I've got no shame admitting that thing scared the hell out of me."

"Don't worry, I'll be tactful with her," Ashley waved her hand.

"No doubt," Kaidan rolled his eyes. "So, did you guys do the debriefing or do I still get to comment?"

"We already did it, Nihlus wanted everyone's first impressions," she explained. "Not much to talk about really... New husks, that's about it. Nihlus is pursuing the lead to Noveria, but while that's going on we need to deal with the outposts. He said he contacted some of his own informants and told them gather everything they can about Binary Helix and what they've been up to."

"I guess that was a boring mission, debriefing wise. Go in, walk into ambush, fight your way out of ambush, the end. No grand revelations, no new squadmates," Kaidan shuffled a bit on the gurney to get into a more comfortable position. "I guess you could call it 'boring'."

"You getting carried into medbay unconscious is your definition of boring? You need to get out more," Ashley smirked and give him a light tap at the shoulder.

"Ow, hey, can you not do that?" Kaidan winced as the back door opened. "Anything to note about the husks, beyond the insanely powerful screamer?"

"Specialized. Each one filling a role in combat," Mordin interrupted two of them, walking out of his 'lab' at the back of the med-bay. "Fascinating. Each variant takes characteristics of a species, amplify them. Pale imitation of the real form, of course, but effective from psychological standpoint. Instill fear into enemy."

"Yeah, they are unnerving I have to admit," Kaidan said.

"So, humans are good at suicide bombing?" Ashley asked as she glared at the salarian. "You trying to say something, Doc?"

"About husks, yes. Explosive human husks create opening with suicide attack, rest pour in and distract enemy. Other types can thus act freely with own specializations," Mordin explained, pulling a report from his omni-tool. "Turian versions exhibit marauding behavior. Fast movement, quick strikes. Also only one who uses external weapons, presumably taken from casualties. Others have own specializations. Biotics and tech for asari and quarian respectively. Individually weak, unable to react fast enough. Combined, creates powerful force."

"However, weak to being broken," the salarian continued before anyone could say anything. "Isolate individual subtypes and will find them much easier to deal with. Suggest large scale explosive or biotic attacks against human husks, while closing in for melee with quarians. Turians similar to unorganized pirates without support. Suggest avoiding asari husks such as today, at least until a weakness is located. Subject brought aboard was... damaged. Will submit report to Citadel soon. Also attaching possible code names for easier identification."

"You... just do that," Ashley nodded at the rapidly speaking salarian. The professor nodded and continued on his way out.

"Well, at least he's thorough in his explanations," Kaidan remarked as the door closed. "So, were you in here just to keep an eye on me, or?..."

"Shrapnel," Ashley explained as she reached around to where some of the shrapnel had dug through her suit. "Chakwas said I was okay, but given that I had a few pieces in my joints when we got back I wanted to make sure."

Chakwas raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two, but said nothing.

XXXXXXX

**One Day Later**

**Antibaar, Tereshkova System**

"Reminds me of those old images of Akko my great-great-grandfather took when scouting it out," Etel commented as she looked out the Mako's viewports. She was sitting in the second seat as Alenko had elected to stay on the _Normandy_ at Chakwas' suggestion.

"Really?" Williams asked, nodding towards the snowstorm they were in. "Big ball of ice?"

"Sort of, it wasn't exactly an appealing target short term," she explained, "but the eezo was worth it. Then they did some tests and realized that if they could thicken up the atmosphere, once the orbit fully stabilized it'd be a potential garden world."

"Nice," Jenkins commented from the gun as Williams started driving the Mako towards their first target point. "How long that going to take?"

"It'll be breathable soon so we won't need the atmospheric domes. As I remember, the plan was to start introducing some plant life that can handle the currently thinner atmosphere to start the needed natural cycles and hopefully have the domes down in about twenty months from there."

"That's optimistic," Tali chimed in. "My dad's expecting it to take at least years, if not decades. There's only so much you can do with VI controlled terraforming to accelerate the process. Besides, 'plant life' here means fungus and algae, not trees."

Etel shrugged. Geology was not her specialty. "Either way, while we might live to see the domes come down, I wouldn't expect it to be a garden world when Wrex here is ready to die of old age."

"Challenge accepted," the krogan rumbled as the Mako rattled going over a rough patch of rocks.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'stabilize'?" Williams asked, turning her head and raising an eyebrow before putting her attention back to the path ahead.

"Akko's orbit is still unstable, as if the system is missing a planet," Tali answered before Etel could, though she gave a nod to tell Tali to continue. "The current explanation is that something big hit some other planet in the system a long time ago and caused a cataclysmic event. As a result, the balance of gravity between planets shifted and Akko dipped closer to the system's star, near the goldilocks zone."

"It's still not there, in terms of stability," Etel added. "Which is why we don't expect the planet to become a proper garden world. It actually dips in and out of the goldilock zone, periodically. Though if the models hold true, give it about two or three hundreds years and it should be stabilized enough to stay in the goldilocks zone and give it a few thousand years it might actually be passable as a garden world. Though we expect seasons to be... interesting, to say the least."

"And that is why the domes are staying up," Tali retorted as they approached the first marker and Williams parked the Mako. She started unbuckling, while Jenkins removed himself from the gun turret and Garrus checked his helmet.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Liara asked uncertainly as Williams made her way back into the Mako's main hold.

"We'll be fine," the marine retorted as she grabbed her assault rifle. She, Garrus, and Jenkins were going to be taking a smaller path to get a vantage point on the geth airbase to provide sniper support and a distraction while the Mako took the main route in to take out the anti-aircraft emplacement. The three got out and Nihlus shifted to take the wheel while Etel moved to the gun turret and Tali into the technician's seat.

"They're clear," Etel reported as she watched them heading up the mountain path, Jenkins taking point and Garrus covering the rear.

The rest of the drive was quiet save for the snowstorm pelting the Mako's windshield and the howl of the wind outside. _At least it's not rated a cold hazard,_ Etel thought. Cold as it was, combat armor was enough to keep it from being fatal in normal exploration.

Nihlus took the Mako on the long way around to the base, to approach it from the east where it's main anti-aircraft battery was located, and the _Normandy's_ intended approach vector to drop a payload. The base was well nestled into the mountainside, too well for orbital bombardment when a pair of geth cruisers were on standby, but Joker was perfectly confident in his ability to perform a low altitude strike.

"So, how're we doing this?" Liara asked as they parked at their position for the attack. "I mean, to have a full crew it'll be down to me and Wrex…"

"We'll storm the AA battery and park the Mako. Shepard can man the gun turret and clear out any reinforcements while the sniper team handles the turret crews," Nihlus explained as he turned and activated his omni-tool, showing the emplaced battery. Larger than the mobile ones deployed on Therum, it also had a much more powerful cannon.

"And then once inside I'll set it to overload, then we let Joker handle the rest. Just keep them off of me."

"A biotic barrier would be more than enough cover," Etel commented. "So just generate one to cover them while they're outside."

Liara nodded uneasily as they waited.

"_Mako, this is Williams. We're good."_

"Roger," Nihlus answered. "T-minus twenty seconds to our arrival at the target."

The Mako surged forward and Etel aimed the gun turret towards the geth base, where several watchtowers had been set up. As they moved forward, a rocket was fired from one tower before a blue mass accelerator trail shot into the shooter as the sniper team began to pick off their targets.

Etel aimed the Mako's main gun at the gate where several geth infantry were gathering and fired, hitting the squad and wrecking the drones.

"Okay, go go go!" Nihlus ordered as the Mako skidded to a halt at the anti-aircraft battery and the rear hatch opened. Wrex hurried out, Liara timidly following behind him and putting up a biotic barrier as the sniper team continued to pick off targets inside the base.

"_Watch it, that fighter's warming up its engines!"_ Garrus warned. _"Mako, can you target it?"_

"I see it!" Etel answered as Nihlus and Tali hurried out of the Mako, a loud metal screech telling her that Wrex was doing his thing as she lined up the cannon to one of the activating geth fighter's engines and fired. The barriers on the target absorbed most of the impact, but broke, and follow up machine gun fire into the engine caused an explosion and the fighter dropped back onto the ground.

"Fighter disabled!"

"_Impressive shot,"_ Garrus answered. _"Oh crap! Armature powering up in the center - Kryik you better hurry!"_

"_Understood, Tali's almost done with the AA gun,"_ Nihlus answered before it was cut off with a burst of rifle fire and Etel focused on other targets.

"_Armature's aiming for us!"_ Jenkins warned.

"_Spread out!"_ Williams called in response as Etel saw the Armature firing up into the mountain as she fired another round from the cannon and kept up the suppressive fire with the machine gun.

The rear hatch opened again as Nihlus came running back on, quickly followed by Liara, Tali, and finally Wrex, his kinetic barrier dropping as he got inside and the hatch closed. A moment later, Nihlus was in the seat and the Mako was reversing away.

"We're clearing out!" Nihlus reported, "Head to the rendezvous point. Anderson, mission's yours!"

"_Copy,"_ Anderson answered as Etel let the machine gun cool and aimed the main gun at the head of the Armature. The cannon round hit and dazed it, but the Mako was long gone before it could turn around.

"I hope those fighters don't launch," Tali said as the geth stopped firing.

Etel turned the turret to the southeast, where the _Normandy_ was going to approach from, and made out a set of blue glows. She smirked. "I wouldn't worry about that."

"Why?" Tali asked as the noise of the Alliance frigate's engines finally reached them, followed by several loud bangs as the ship's mass accelerators fired.

"_Yeehaw!"_ Joker shouted over the comms, _"Scratch that airbase! We're done here, hurry up and get to the pickup zone!"_

"Ground team copies," Nihlus answered as they approached the pickup point for the sniper team. The rear hatch opened and they stumbled inside.

"Everyone okay?" Jenkins asked as he looked around.

"No one got hurt," Etel answered. "You guys?"

"Shrapnel from the pulse blast the Armature fired, but our barriers took it," Williams answered as the hatch sealed behind them.

XXXXXXX

**Several Hours Later**

_**Normandy**_** Engineering Bay**

"So what _is_ Jenkins trying to make?" Etel asked as she leaned against the wall next to the elevator as Jenkins and Williams were setting up his next firing test.

"High-ex rifle," Alenko answered with a smirk. "Though, usually they're a lot more bulky and inconsistent as hell."

She simply nodded as the two marines stepped back and activated it. The gun fired a single round, hitting the sandbag and blasting it to pieces and triggering the practice kinetic barriers, but the rifle began to overheat and Williams groaned.

"The heat sink just isn't able to handle it," she finally said. "You need a better heat sink."

"Yeah," Jenkins nodded as he put on another set of protective gloves to move it. "What do you think - try one of those turian ones?"

"Bigger, actually," Williams commented.

"Why not krogan size?" Wrex asked from where he was sitting, polishing his heavy assault rifle. "Something like my Striker here."

"That might be a bit too big," Etel commented as she rubbed her chin. "But there's probably some other rifles. Maybe those Mattocks? Pretty cheap for their punch, not too much more than a Lancer and extremely popular amongst colonial militias and local levies. Plus, full auto probably won't be needed for what you're making."

"Why not a shotgun then?" Wrex asked. "If you are not looking for full auto, shotguns might work better."

"Maybe," Jenkins admitted as he opened the rifle's protective plating and turned away as the fumes vented from the rifle's heat sink and the melted components while Williams was typing down notes on her omni-tool. "Yeah, definitely need a bigger chassis. Next time we stop somewhere I'll see if I can find one for cheap."

"Don't pour too much into this," Alenko warned as he stepped forward. "You still have to retire."

"I know, I know," the younger marine answered, "but I know it can be done. It's just a custom job, that's all."

"Well, I'd start by salvaging as much as you can from this," Williams said as she looked at the Lancer that Jenkins had been using and stifling a yawn.

"Hitting the sack, LC?" Alenko asked.

"Soon," she answered. "I'd like to get some before we hit Casbin."

"You know, landing on Casbin is technically illegal," Etel noted as she smirked. "We had to jump through a lot of hoops with the Citadel when we did our anti-piracy campaign. Luckily, they didn't land on the planet, but…"

"If you don't enforce your laws, they don't mean anything," Wrex rumbled as she trailed off. "Besides, the geth are squatting on it, we're just kicking them off."

"True," Alenko admitted.

XXXXXXX

**The Next Day**

**Casbin, Hong System**

"Good work Liara, keep them busy!" Ashley shouted as Liara was running from one piece of cover to next. For some reason, the geth had decided that she was the biggest threat and were concentrating most of their firepower at her.

Which lead to the current situation where she was running around, occasionally launching biotics at her attackers. The rest of the ground team was focusing on taking out the geth targeting her. Ashley heard a rumble in the distance but ignored it for now as she was laying down suppressive fire.

"Why are they focusing on me?!" the archaeologist demanded as she jumped out from behind a crate, just before a rocket hit the crate and blew the top half off. Garrus picked off the geth trooper responsible as Liara dove behind a cluster of dragon's teeth that hadn't been deployed.

Why the geth were focusing on Liara, though, was pretty clear to Ashley as she gunned down a Hopper that was trying to get above the asari. While Liara's biotic counterattacks were quick and poorly aimed, there was power in them. Several geth drones had already thought they had dodged an attack, only to find out there was more biotic energy behind them that picked them up and flung them into the perimeter walls.

"Just keep it up and this should be over soon!" Ashley retorted as she moved on to her next target, another rocket trooper that had hurried onto the walls.

"Damn it, it's that dropship again!" Jenkins shouted as the dropship dipped into the valley the base was in. The ship didn't stop however, dropping its cargo before speeding away. It did not make it far before a shot from the _Normandy_ crippled it, causing it to crash to the nearby cliffside.

"_Scratch one!"_ Joker's called over the comms.

"_That shot revealed us and their guns are already powering up. Get that base offline ASAP!"_ Anderson ordered._ "Joker, take us out their effective range,"_ Ashley could see the three still-functioning anti-aircraft guns starting to power up and aiming to target _Normandy_ as it pulled back out.

The troops that the dropship had dropped finally landed from their paradrop, rolling across the battlefield before finally coming to rest. _Damn, that fall would've killed me,_ Ashley thought in annoyance as she, Kaidan, and Shepard shifted fire their way, the knight releasing a biotic shockwave while Kaidan overloaded a shock trooper's shields with a tech attack.

And just to make things better, one of the geth, larger than others, landed right in where Liara had taken refuge this time.

"Shit, we need to help T'Soni! Get rea-" Ashley began before a blue glow interrupted her and a Destroyer sailed into the air above them, eventually crash landing violently against one of the guns. The flamethrower wielding synthetic slid down, it's head bouncing a few times and ripping off as it came to a stop. The only thing keeping the head connected to rest of the body was several wires.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Liara shouted.

"Oh sh- Everyone down!" Kaidan shouted, pulling Ashley to the ground. The rest of the team followed quickly, taking cover behind anything that could shield them. Or in Wrex's case, just dropping down head first.

Bracing herself, Ashley felt a powerful force, like the wind was blowing against her even though she was behind a small wall. She could hear numerous crashes and the scraping of metal as gunfire quickly died down. Once it calmed down, she rose up and saw that area around Liara had been shaved away, like someone had taken a giant shovel and scraped away the first couple centimeters of soil.

The geth were disoriented by the sudden casualties, to point where one of their combat engineer models didn't realize it's pistol arm was missing, trying to shoot a gun it didn't have.

"Their network's in chaos, hit them now!" Tali shouted, and they did just that, Wrex colliding into a heavily damaged Prime that had been keeping the krogan, Nihlus, and Tali down while Jenkins hurled a grenade into the last watchtower and blew the two troopers inside away. Ashley and Kaidan pushed towards Liara, but the only thing Ashley had to shoot was a drone that was haphazardly flying in with only half its thrusters.

As she and Kaidan reached Liara, she noticed that the young asari was dazed, swaying in place like she had too many shots of whisky. "Damn, Liara, that was impressive. Keep it up," Ashley said, giving Liara thumbs up with a faint smile, even though she knew it would be obscured by the breath mask. Liara looked at them, dazed and her eyes unfocused.

"I did? Wait, what did I do?" she asked, looking between two marines. Then her eyes rolled up and she collapsed like a sack of grain, staring blankly into the sky.

"Oh boy," Kaidan said as he took a knee and activated his omni-tool. "Looks like she lost control. Too much biotic power at once."

XXXXXXX

**One Hour Later**

_**SSV Normandy**_

"So, uh, anyone want to tell me what happened with Liara going nova on us?" Jenkins asked as they were meeting in the briefing room to discuss the topic on everyone's mind.

"Biotics is based on the same principles most mass effect technology is," Etel answered. "It's all the manipulation of dark energy to increase or decrease mass - and done in patterns that cause objects to move. It's common to use it in controlled method rather than unleashing it as a raw maelstrom, though."

"It is sometimes released in that stage, such as biotic shockwaves," Alenko added as he leaned in. "Increase the mass of the local air particles, then drop it suddenly and let the release of energy go off like a grenade."

"And Liara went nuclear with that," Williams added as she folded her arms. "Her problems won't just be panicking in a fight."

"Agreed," Nihlus said with a nod. "Until she wakes up however, this is all a moot point. Still, we can discuss options now. Wrex, Shepard, Alenko, opinions?"

"Inexperienced," Wrex rumbled, idly wiping his shotgun that he was making a point of keeping aimed upwards even with the ammo block removed and laying on his lap. "She knows the theory, but she doesn't know how much power to use in one go. After all, you don't use a full swing when a quick jab will do."

"Agreed," Alenko said as he glanced between them. "She just isn't familiar with extended combat. I think we'll be able to fix this just with time and her getting experience and some basic endurance training, but we should talk to her about it. Maybe put her into some boot camp with what we have here, though I don't think we'll be able to do the kind of precision training needed."

Etel nodded. "No, we won't. But having her work with one of us, a sort of apprenticeship, may be enough to fix this. Give her some time, and I think she'll be able to fight with that kind of power alongside the most battle hardened knights and not be out of place."

"Question is, who teaches her?" Tali noted. "She's raw biotic power. Each of you have something else in your style that you use in tandem with your biotics."

"Why not have Alenko do it?" Anderson suggested. "His role as a medic means he isn't charging headlong into the melee. And let's be honest here, Liara is someone we want to keep as far from knife fight range as possible."

_Sound logic,_ Etel noted. "I agree with the Captain. Also, it might be a chance for him to receive technique training."

"You saying he's not fully trained?" Williams snarled, almost standing.

"Easy LC," Anderson warned. Williams glanced at her superior officer and nodded, settling back down in her seat.

"Well, I'd be willing to help her, but uh, as the technique training would indicate, my combat biotics is more military training than constant usage. As I told Commander Williams here, Eden Prime was the first time I used my biotics that extensively. Beforehand I primarily relied on my omni-tool and a rifle."

"Time to change that," Wrex said as he put his shotgun down on the floor. "Look, you've got biotic power. Do you realize how many krogan died trying to get that? Shepard's right, I think you two working together would work best. You can learn some more advanced biotic attacks she probably was taught, and you teach her how to keep a lid on it and judge how much power to use."

"I think you've been volunteered," Jenkins remarked with a smirk. "Sir."

"Lucky me."

XXXXXX

**One and a Half Days Later**

**Maji, Vamshi System**

"By the Goddess, what is that?!" Liara shouted as the large, crustacean like creature landed in the middle of the base they had just cleared, dropped by an overhead geth dropship. She felt the urge to run coming up again as she stepped back.

"Fuck, Praetorian!" Kaidan answered as he grabbed her and dragged her down behind the box. "One of those was supposed to bring down the barrier curtains you were stuck behind on Therum," he explained as Williams and Jenkins were laying down assault rifle fire at it while everyone else was reacting and scattering to avoid attacks.

"So what do we do?"

"Stay as far away as possible and don't get fried by the eye beams."

"_Eye beams?_" she asked incredulously. It sounded like one of those stupid extranet comics.

"Yeah, I know. Okay, time for full power, just like we discussed. Ready?"

She nodded as the Praetorian was moving towards the tower Garrus had occupied as the turian was firing off armor piercing rounds as fast as his rifles could cool down. The two stood up and released their biotic power, two blue orbs smashing into the rear of the Praetorian and smearing against its biotic barriers.

"It… didn't work!" she gasped.

"Hit it again!" Kaidan ordered as they repeated the attack, Kaidan staggering after his attack. The Praetorian turned now and was moving towards them. "And now we sprint!" the marine shouted.

Liara wasted no time rushing clear as they ran towards where Williams and Jenkins were spraying the monster with assault rifle fire as Garrus continued to fire.

"Where the hell's Shepard?" Williams asked as they joined them, pausing her firing rate to let her rifle cool and pulling out her sniper rifle. The marine aimed for the eyes and fired an armor piercing round, but the Praetorian's barriers caught it.

"She ran towards the Mako!" Jenkins retorted as Kaidan gestured and Liara launched another biotic warp. Again, though dimmer than before, the biotic barriers on the monster stopped it.

"Are you shitting me?" Williams asked, staring at Jenkins. "Oh that's just fucking brilliant… okay. Kaidan, take Liara and get some distance. Jenkins, split off and harass it. Go!"

They split up, the two non-biotic marines going in different directions and firing as heat allowed, switching weapons to keep up a stream of fire, backed by Garrus sniping away with his own armor-piercing ammo. Nihlus and Wrex were still inside with Tali, hoping to tap into the geth network and clearing the geth in the command post.

"So uh, when do we head for the Mako?" Liara asked as they reached the other end of the base from the Praetorian.

"Not sure," he answered as he gripped his assault rifle. "You better take the next… shit, Ashley!"

The Praetorian was closing in on the Lieutenant-Commander as she stopped firing and focused on sprinting away from melee range, darting side to side as the Praetorian came to a halt on its legs and fired a pair of blue beams that followed her and grazed her kinetic barrier. The contact between her kinetic barrier and the beams caused a small explosion, knocking Williams to the side and the vitals in the HUD for Liara's helmet showed Williams as wounded from her landing.

Before the Praetorian could fire again, however, something large, white, and grey shot over the perimeter walls and crashed into the Praetorian before rolling off it backwards. The creature had been pushed down, but regained its footing quickly as Liara finally recognized what had hit it.

The Mako. And now it was gaining speed and rammed the Praetorian directly, sending the monster into a backwards somersault. The Praetorian regained its footing easily before the Mako rammed it again.

"Come on!" Kaidan shouted as he ran out, Liara following him towards where Williams lay as the Mako rammed the Praetorian again. Jenkins had moved out too and was taking up a firing position next to Williams as Kaidan began to apply medi-gel, but Liara watched the Mako at work.

The IFV rammed the Praetorian again, but this time the Praetorian didn't come back to its feet after landing, instead staying on its back and flailing around, eventually sticking its legs into the dirt and pulling itself up… right before the Mako rammed it again, rinsing and repeating as Liara stared, parts of the Praetorian starting to splinter off – including a large piece of its frontal carapace.

Liara shrieked as it flew towards them and put up a biotic barrier quickly, blocking it. She staggered back from the feedback of the collision, dropping the barrier as soon as she saw the piece of carapace hit the ground.

"Jeez, she wasn't kidding…" Jenkins muttered.

"What do you mean?" Liara asked as the Mako rammed the Praetorian again.

"When she told me that Makos were one-vehicle cavalry charges, I thought my drill sergeant was just joking," he explained as the Mako's front end jammed into the Praetorian's insides and smashed it against one of the cliffs that surrounded the base. The Mako pulled out, now covered in the remains of the husks used to make the Praetorian.

Then, to no one's surprise, the Mako rammed the Praetorian again and the creature seemed to break apart, no longer moving as the vehicle slowly reversed out of it.

"Easy LC, it's okay," Kaidan said as Williams started to come around.

"What… what happened?"

"Uh, we found out why Shepard went for the Mako," Jenkins answered. "You may want to stay sitting down for this."

"Why? What did she… whoa." Williams just stared at the gooey remains of the Praetorian as the Mako slowly rolled up next to them. Liara noticed that the front end was deformed and it looked like it was about to break. The rear hatch opened and Etel walked out, glancing around.

"Everyone okay?" the knight asked.

XXXXXXX

**The Next Morning**

_**SSV Normandy**_** Mess Hall**

"Captain?" Ashley asked with a frown as she saw Anderson looking at a news article. She was still sore from the previous day's events, but she was healing and she could move. Good enough for navy work.

"Hmmm? Oh, Williams," Anderson said with a brief nod. "Nothing going on, just reading about that VI on Luna."

"I heard about it. Anything new?"

"From the news, no," Anderson said. "But I talked with the man in charge of the actual op. Captain Toni."

Ashley straightened immediately. "Delta Squad? But I thought they weren't due to start deployment for another few months; I think the only one of them besides the Captain who's an N5 or above is that Vega guy and most of them only had their N3 certification."

Which, admittedly, meant they were all fully trained special forces operatives, but it still surprised her. Most ICT trainees went as far as they could in training before going out for combat experience, sometimes returning once they had learned from experience to try again where they had failed before.

"They aren't," Anderson explained. "They were the only ones in position on Luna to act in time. They're mostly alright, primarily injuries." He shook his head with a faint smile. "Leave it to Toni to manage to get into that kind of trouble."

Ashley nodded. Although Toni Veijainen never made N7 (only reaching N6), he had been trained by Anderson while Ashley was just a schoolgirl who had yet to hit puberty. Anderson often kept contact with his trainees, and the ones who began to train and lead their own units still called him asking for advice. Anderson was only too happy to provide it, and she had overheard a good amount of it as she became his next protégé.

"He didn't get injured this time?"

"No, and they all survived. Toni ran into a few kinetic barriers that got raised, but luckily Vega blew the last VI core before they could be used to gas him and half the squad." Anderson shook his head. "Just wait, next time he deploys he'll get his leg broken in a shuttle crash."

"If what you've said about him indicates anything, probably will." Ashley said as she tilted her head. "So, Captain… I never asked, but…"

"Have I ever regretted leaving the Special Forces for commanding a ship?" Anderson finished before pausing and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Sometimes, but I'm old now. I'm not nearly as good as I used to be, and there's only so much med tech can do to counteract old age without making me mostly synthetic. Besides," he smirked at her, "I've got you and Alenko to pound the ground for me. And trust me, Williams, when you're my age, you'll be hoping you have a good ship to command."

Ashley chuckled. "Yeah, when I'm better at talking politics than shooting people."

"I dunno, shooting people is a very useful skill when negotiating with Alliance Procurement. Remember that crate of Onyx Mark II heavy armor they got for us?" he asked before sighing at that bad memory.

"Don't remind me," she groaned, remembering that incident on the _SSV Tokyo_. "There are marines on Akuze who'd kill to get out of their Mark I armor. And we all had Mark III or better."

"And anyone who didn't have heavy armor didn't want any," Anderson finished as he sighed. "Besides, we were able to get that crate sent to Akuze eventually." Anderson paused thoughtfully as he checked the time on his omni-tool. "I'd better check on Joker and make sure he actually takes his eight hours."

"Aye aye, sir," Ashley said.

XXXXX

**One Day Later**

**Solcrum, Grissom System**

"Dark place."

"Definitely," Tali answered Jenkins as she finished hacking the door open. The last geth position on the Armstrong Nebula had been protected by a pair of Colossi on the outside – the geth had figured out what was going on, it seemed, but a quick airstrike from the _Normandy _dealt with that. Unfortunately, the sensors were also built on a system that allowed them to be brought underground, meaning that to actually take them out they had to go inside.

And just to make things better, three enemy frigates had moved into position to engage the _Normandy_ and were in pursuit. Joker was quite confident in his ability to deal with them, though.

Either way, it left them with a job to do. Though making matters worse was that the Mako was combat inoperable. Ramming the Praetorian the other day had wrecked the systems and Adams needed time to repair it, time they didn't have to wait. And they were all starting to feel the intense heat of the planet bearing down on them as they had been out for too long.

"Done," Tali said as the door opened and she disabled her omni-tool. "Ready?"

"Of course," Etel answered, shotgun in hand.

Wrex went in first, followed by Nihlus and Etel on his flanks. Tali, Williams, Garrus, and Liara formed the center while Jenkins and Kaidan went in last. A ramp lead them down into the underground facility, but no security measures activated to stop them.

"Is this another trap?" Liara asked as she kept her pistol raised.

"Not like last time," Etel answered as they came into an open room and immediately came under fire.

Wrex reacted first, a biotic barrier shimmering into existence as his kinetic barrier failed. The whole team scrambled for the nearest available cover, mostly small rises between rooms and the doorway they had entered.

Tali came to a halt behind a wall and leaned out, aiming her omni-tool at a recon drone that was flying in from above and overloading it before firing her shotgun, taking it out as everyone began to return fire.

"The local server hub is up there," Tali noted as she checked the head's up display in her helmet and pointed towards the next floor. "Just past that Prime."

"Okay then," Etel said as the Prime fired it's cannon and missed, hitting the ramp behind them and causing their kinetic barriers to flicker. "Wrex, Williams, Nihlus, let's clear house down here."

"The rest of you suppress the geth topside!" Williams added as she grabbed her shotgun.

Liara leaned out of cover and focused, a biotic aura completely obscuring her for a moment before fading as she ducked back down. Tali looked up to see the geth above being pulled from where they had taken cover and floating in the air around a miniature, blue shifted black hole.

Which was then hidden by an explosion as Jenkins capitalized on it by throwing a grenade into the mix, throwing the geth caught in it either down a floor or into the wall behind.

"Nice job," Tali commented as she overloaded a Destroyer's kinetic barriers before launching another disc after it, the hacking algorithm quickly taking over and turning it against the two shock troopers that were backing it up. The fight was ended quickly, though, as Wrex and Etel broke into the melee and knocked both away with biotics before a sniper round from Garrus took out the Destroyer.

"Path's clear, let's go Tali!" Etel shouted and Tali nodded, sprinting forward as the krogan and knight pushed to the ramp and cleared the way for her. Williams and Nihlus followed behind while the others kept up suppressive fire.

"Watch it, Prime's active!" Tali warned as they came to the next floor. She and Nihlus both acted immediately to weaken its shields, shocking it with overloads as the two biotics moved forward with Etel generating a biotic barrier and staggering as it took the pulse cannon blast the Prime had ready for them.

Not that it stopped the krogan from crashing into the Prime and knocking it back, blasting it in the head with the shotgun and burning away the head armor. Nihlus and Etel were close behind to exploit it with their own shotgun blasts, keeping the Prime from reacting as she sprinted past and into the room it was guarding.

A geth machinist model was waiting for her with a shotgun of its own in hand and dropped her shields with a single blast, but she hit it back, hitting the shotgun with a tech disc and caused it to overheat. Seizing the opportunity, she fired her shotgun into it to knock out it's kinetic barriers before shoving an omni-blade laced with electrical energy into the synthetic's chassis.

"I'm in," she reported as she reinitialized her kinetic barriers and began to access the network and smiled. "Oh, this is brilliant." She immediately set to work as the Prime continued to struggle with the three close quarter combatants.

"_Hey, Tali, we've got a problem,"_ Williams reported. _"Joker just reported a lot of geth coming in from all around. They'll be swarming us soon."_

"Got it," she answered, "I'll need some time, though. We hit the jackpot - it's a local server hub!"

"_Do what you can,"_ Williams answered as there was a loud crash behind her. _"But we'll have to hole up here - no Mako for a quick getaway."_

"Just slow them down, I've got an idea," Tali said as she adjusted the algorithms in use to try and compensate for the geth's server defenses.

"_Watch out, Destroyers with flamethrowers!"_ Etel shouted as the fight continued. Tali glanced at the monitor which was showing the action a floor below. The geth were swarming into the base like angry insects and steadily pushing the team back.

"Come on," Tali muttered as the geth countered again and she paused, smirking, and switched to a program. It was on the surface a poor one - it returned a null value or a divide by zero. Such a rookie mistake that no one would believe it to be a serious attempt.

As soon as it uploaded, Tali smirked as she connected it to a set of source files before starting another hacking attempt to maintain the deception. The geth pounced it as she expected, even with her switching the algorithms to try and get around it, but she made no inroads with that.

What it did do, though, was distract the geth from the real attack, and Tali smirked to herself as the base lights flickered and some of the geth began to slow down. It was already self-replicating, each file it uploaded into the geth's server then replicating and downloading more, eating away at their bandwidth.

"_Hey, they're slowing down! What's going on?"_ Jenkins asked before his commlink was cut off by his shotgun fire.

"_Tali must have hit their network!"_ Nihlus answered as she continued the effort. Several explosions from below later, Tali smirked and shut down her omni-tool, walking back down to where the rest of the team was checking the now inoperable geth.

"Okay Tali," Etel said as she walked to the group, "what did you do? I've never seen a synthetic seize up and collapse like that." The knight gestured to a shock trooper that had no signs of battle damage.

"Now that'd be telling," Tali said slyly as she glanced towards the Alliance Marines.

"Seriously though, what'd you do?" Kaidan asked as he was tending to Jenkins' injuries.

"I used a decoy program which on the surface returned null values and tried to divide by zero and other such nonsense that no self-respecting programmer would let happen. The geth saw it as a way to distract them since on its own it did nothing. So it seemed to be a blatantly obvious attempt to crash the system through logic errors, then I tried another route which drew their attention. What they didn't know was that the first program was a self-replicating downloader with a timer delay."

"So it duplicated itself and downloaded stuff into their system, clogging it with data?" Liara said, tilting her head at her.

"Exactly," Tali answered. "And each image it downloaded also had another version of it tied onto it. So, it kept growing more and downloading more until the geth's servers were overloaded. By the time geth realized what it was, it was already slowing them down and replicating faster than they could kill the processes."

"What did you upload anyways?" Garrus asked, wiping off geth coolants from his sniper rifle.

"About a zetabyte of explicit images. Most of it was Joker's, but the rest…"

Kaidan, Jenkins, Garrus, Nihlus, and Williams shifted around uncomfortably while Etel tilted her head at her, Liara was staring blankly, and Wrex wasn't even paying attention. Or if he was, his body language didn't show it.

XXXXXXX

**Several Hours Later**

_**SSV Normandy**_** Briefing Room**

"Now that we've dealt with these outposts, we have our next objective," Nihlus said as everyone settled in. "We're heading to Noveria to investigate Binary Helix."

"That corporate world?" Williams asked. "I'm guessing that means infiltration then."

"Not necessarily," Shepard retorted. "It is independent, but it has a treaty with the Citadel. And helping the Citadel's enemies is not part of that."

"Of course, they will likely try to slow us down," Nihlus warned. "Binary Helix is one of their larger companies and they rely heavily on corporations being able to operate there without the Citadel poking in on their affairs. It's where they conduct all sorts of technically illegal research, and why companies pay premiums to operate there."

"Illegal? As in, illegal like like husks?" Jenkins suggested.

"I doubt a CEO would be that stupid," Tali retorted. "That's the kind of thing that blacklists your whole company."

"If it ever becomes public," Alenko muttered. "Still, I'm guessing this means we won't be able to just barge in, right?"

"Correct, Lieutenant. However, while Noveria is strict about maintaining its independence and corporate security, it does recognize Spectre authority. They are not obligated to help us, however, and will likely try to bury us with red tape."

"Brilliant," Wrex muttered. "Anything we should prepare for?"

"Freezing cold," Anderson said as he took a step forward. Nihlus nodded to him and the ship's captain continued. "Normally it's no worse than Therum is hot, but there have been extremely hazardous blizzards there in the past. I'd advise that you make sure your armor is in full repair and if you have anything to help with the cold, put it in."

"One more thing," Nihlus warned, "Saren has invested heavily into Binary Helix. He's likely going to have plenty of assets there, and not easily recognizable ones like geth or augmented krogan. Be extremely careful who you talk to while on Noveria - anyone could be one of Saren's operatives, even if only by proxy."

XXXXXXX

"So Joker, what happened to those frigates?"

"All destroyed," he answered as he smirked at Kaidan. "It's funny, once we got into orbit they just seemed to lose track of us even though we flew right by. It was only when we fired torpedoes up their asses that they seemed to be able to find us."

"Nice," the biotic said. "Good to know the stealth drive's paying off, though it was pretty hot in here when we came in. Almost as hot as the surface was."

"Yeah, that's the rub. Stealth drive alone's bad enough, but that and firing the guns?" Joker shook his head. "Not going to last too long in a stand up fight like that. Still, it speaks good things for the drive if we can wax three frigates like that. And not just dinky pirate ones, top of the line ships!"

"Just need to work out the heat problem. Story of military developments since eezo was discovered."

"Speaking of heat; how's the asari?"

Kaidan paused and gave him a mock glare. "Cute, Joker, but she's not my type."

"And who is? Wait, don't answer that, I'd rather be surprised. Though if you can get some blue..." Joker smirked, and Kaidan just sighed.

XXXXXXX

**The Next Morning**

"Something wrong, Garrus?"

Garrus looked up as Nihlus walked into the mess hall. "Nothing," he said immediately as he minimized the screen on his omni-tool. "Just a news report."

"You're not very good at lying," the Spectre commented, folding his arms as he stood across from the table.

Garrus snorted briefly before shrugging. "Just some old memories being drudged up. They found a real nasty piece of work on Intai'sei. A guy who had extra organs in him."

"Illegal genetic modifications?"

"Sort of," he explained as he gestured to the seat. "Let's just say that I dealt with the lizard that was almost certainly behind it."

"One of those who got away?" Nihlus asked as he sat down.

"Exactly. The salarian's name is Saleon. Did some really sick stuff - grew organs inside his so-called 'workers' to harvest and sell on the black market. If it didn't come out well, he left them in there."

"Seems like a waste to leave it in, that leaves a genetic trail."

"Yeah, well, C-Sec doesn't exactly regularly check people for extra organs, especially if they never pass through our checkpoints. Only reason we found out was because one of his employees started bleeding when I was, ah, questioning them at the precinct."

Nihlus narrowed his eyes. "You weren't roughing them up, were you?"

"Of course not, but I was pushing for answers." Garrus shrugged as he reactivated his omni-tool. "Anyways, we finally caught the guy but he hijacked a ship and hit the thrusters full power. I told the defenses to take it down, shoot the engines, but Pallin countermanded the order and let him escape."

"If it was as simple as a mad doctor in a stolen ship, he would have fired. What else was there?"

"A few hostages - who would have been dead anyways with what Saleon did to them - and as I said when I told them to hit the engines. Disable it so Saleon couldn't get away with them." He slammed his fist on the table. "Then we acted surprised when the hostages were found a few months later, face down in an alleyway."

"You can't catch them all. And if you just write people off straight away, you'll kill more people than you save," Nihlus warned as he leaned forward.

"And you haven't written off innocents in your Spectre work?"

"I've had my share of terrible deeds," the Spectre admitted, "and had to dodge a Justicar because of it. But that is always a last resort. If your first resort is to let innocents die, are you any better than the people you're stopping?"

"Maybe not. But it would be nice to nail Saleon, at least. Stop him from hurting anyone else."

Nihlus paused thoughtfully, activating his omni-tool as he stood. "Maybe. Maybe."

"Uh, Spectre Kryik? Is there something I should know?"

"Not yet."

And with that, the other turian walked away and left Garrus sitting in the mess hall wondering what just happened.

XXXXXXX

**One Day Later**

**Upper Orbit of Noveria**

"Approach Control, this is _SSV Normandy_, requesting an approach vector. We are on official Spectre business," Joker said, broadcasting to Noveria's spaceport. Ashley, Nihlus and Shepard were in the cockpit observing the landing.

"_Normandy, your approach is unscheduled. Please submit your Spectre credentials. Our defense network is online and tracking you. Failure to comply will be met with lethal force,"_ came the response.

Nihlus entered his code into the system, and a few seconds later, the controller continued. _"Landing access granted. Please proceed to docking bay two. Be advised, the facility is currently enveloped by a storm."_

While the _Normandy_ was rated to survive hazardous weather conditions like those on Noveria, it was still worrying to hear the subtle groaning of the ship's hull.

And even more rare for the _Normandy_ was that every station was manned, no one asleep at all. Apparently Noveria was currently experiencing one of the biggest storms in a decade and even starships had trouble getting past it. Still, Joker was able to find a way through the areas where the turbulence was minimal… relatively.

As the ship slipped into the secure docking bay, the radio buzzed back to life. _"Be advised, we will confirm identities upon exiting the ship. If we can not confirm your identity, your ship will be confiscated as per Article 9 of Emergency Defense Regulations. You will stand on trial for impersonating a Citadel official if this is the case."_

"Lovely people," Joker muttered as he was running through the landing checks. "I think I'll take my next leave here."

"Emergency Defense Regulation?" Shepard asked, raising her eyebrow. "Haven't heard of those being applied before. Someone is taking the geth attacks very seriously."

"What, because of killer robots from unknown space attacking formerly safe colonies? I can't think a reason to be worried."

"Joker..." Ashley warned.

"It's not that, the EDR is supposed to be for war. As far as I know, the Emperor has not declared a state of war," the Imperial Knight explained. "As in, the kind you would expect for a throwdown between the asari and turians, not just the usual pirate raids."

"Wait, I thought Noveria was independent colony?" Ashley asked, frowning. "Why would they obey him?" Shepard seemed to bristle little, but only for a moment before elaborating.

"It was originally started by group of Merchant Guilds. Then they received the backing of several bigger corporations and eventually, when these types of colonies usually request the official protection of the Empire and the Administration handles fief organization... they didn't. They formed their own committees and went independent. Not much anyone could really do about it, it was unclaimed world after all."

"Whatever it is, we should head off. Sooner we get this over, sooner we can head to Binary Helix," Nihlus said, gesturing for the two Spectre candidates to follow. "Keep in mind, while Noveria has an agreement with the Council, it goes both ways. They don't have to comply with our mission, but they do have to permit us to land."

"So expect red tape," Ashley muttered as she activated her omni-tool and did a weapons check. "Well, at least we won't get shot at."

XXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_\- A bit of a slower chapter, more vignette based. We never wanted to gloss over the geth outpost missions - in fact we wanted to make sure Tali got a chance to shine during them as this is her element in the team - but at the same time, we remember New Syracusae all too well. That bogged down far more than it should have. So, we cut to highlights to give a taste of what happened and got us to Noveria._

_\- As a note, our original plan called for us to do Feros first, but we decided to switch it around after discussing the fact that we really haven't been doing many deviations from the plot in the grand scheme of things. Noveria provides us with the perfect outlet to start doing some more, and Feros works better as a follow up to that._

_\- Shepard was going to be driving a Mako at some point, we knew that we had to get a "Shepard's Driving" joke in there are some point. But we wanted it to make sense. Well, ramming a Praetorian is as good a way of doing it as any!_

_\- For those who are surprised to hear James Vega mentioned… it's a cameo and an indication of what he and his squad is doing. They're not going to become major characters in this story, but they still exist. And well, as we saw in Paragon Lost and the fact that Anderson was the one who selected Vega to bodyguard Shep between ME2 and 3, it's pretty clear that Anderson has had an eye on Vega for a while, or at least Vega's unit. So, it felt appropriate to mention them at some point. The scene was originally in the last chapter, but our beta pointed out that it was a bit too fast news wise for Anderson to find out about it._

_\- Finally, apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Holidays, school, and a breakdown of one of the writer's laptops slowed us down considerably. We hope to return to faster pace next year._

_\- The Codex Entry for this chapter is Noveria. Now, we did some major deviations. In canon, Noveria was founded in 2163 Common Era. That… just didn't sit well with us as a logical thing since in twenty years this frozen ball of ice was able to negotiate with the Citadel into an independent world and lots of corporate backing? It just rubbed us the wrong way. So, we gave it a far earlier date of founding by a factor of two hundred years. _

_\- Finally, thank you to reality deviant, Dragon Matt Blue, scottusa1, AllisterH, Lone Gundam, RheasHelm, Jozern, and HappySticky for their reviews. Though, to Lone Gundam (guest reviewer), you misread the Batarian Crusade codex entry – the Council's peace treaty had the batarians release the slaves they had taken or acquired from Imperial territory, and the Empire returned the planets they took from the batarians._

XXXXXX

**Codex: Planets - Horsehead Nebula - Pax System - Noveria**

**Colonial Information:**

Affiliation: Independent

Species - Mixed (No Clear Majority)

Capital - Port Hanshan

Colony Founded - 1963 Common Era (2563 Galactic Standard)

Population - 405,200

Noveria is a cool, rocky world, with most of its hydrosphere locked up in massive glaciers. A privately-chartered colony world, the planet is owned by Noveria Development Corporation holding company. The NDC is funded by investment capital from two dozen high technology development firms, and administered by an Executive Board representing their interests. Once the colony's basic facilities were established, the investors built remote hot labs in isolated locations across Noveria's surface. These facilities are used for research too dangerous or controversial to be performed elsewhere, as Noveria is technically not part of Citadel space and therefore exempt from Council law. Additionally, these labs were intentionally built to be easily isolated in order to prevent leaks - both data and experiments gone awry.

Noveria's legal arrangement grew by necessity. The Pax System, hosting a secondary Mass Relay with greater range than most others of its kind, was a key juncture between the Attican Traverse, Citadel Space, and the Terminus Systems. However, colonizing the region was deemed impossible as no planet was suitable, and the strategic appeal did little for colonial enlistment against more attractive targets in the Traverse.

Taking advantage of this, a cologmorate of companies from the Vol Protectorate and guilds from the Star Empire organized a mission to colonize it, hoping to turn it into an ideal place for the aforementioned research. This move was met with great concern by many political leaders of the time, fearing what could happen without government oversight. However, they agreed to support Citadel Defense Force patrols in the region in exchange for their autonomy. The CDF patrols could base in Noveria's orbital facilities and resupply at pre-agreed costs with the bases themselves being Noveria's responsibility to maintain, and Noveria came under the Citadel's strategic umbrella.

As part of this and a particularly special arrangement, Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance agents have been granted extraterritorial privileges, but it remains to be seen how committed the Executive Board is to that principle. Given its unique situation, it is understandable that Noveria is often implicated in all manner of wild conspiracy theories.


	18. Priority: Noveria

"Stop! All hands and limbs where we can see them and no guns!" a woman who was clearly in charge of the security shouted as the team approached the checkpoint connecting the dock and rest of the port.

"I'm getting readings for enough weapons to start a small war," one of security officers behind the counter said, looking over the screen.

"Right, you are going to have to leave them here," the leader said.

"I see you have risen through the ranks, Matsuo. A full captain now?" Nihlus said, stepping forward.

"Nihlus. Should've known you were the one coming to ruin my day," she said with a groan. "So, what are you planning this time? We spent two months clearing the wreckage in Lab 2 last time you visited."

Nihlus shrugged nonchalantly. "It was Derjas' decision to try and kill me. I merely responded."

"Regardless, I want you to leave your guns with me," Matsuo continued. "With the geth raids, we don't want any conflicts inside the port. Every time you Spectres visit you cause them to happen, so I want to at least slow you down."

"You know my answer: same as the last time. You can try to stop me..." Nihlus said, gesturing her to finish the sentence. Matsuo sighed.

"... and start a fight with the Citadel here and now. Heard it already. Just don't start a fight and meet with Administrator Anoleis first before you go and anger someone," Matsuo said, waving her men to give the team a way. After the group had gotten past the checkpoint, Tali raised the question Ashley had been thinking.

"How did you know her?" the young quarian asked.

"That incident she mentioned? Well, she got a promotion out of it. Looks like her career has just been rising since," Nihlus merely said, indicating he wasn't going to share the story this time. "Though, with ten years as an Alliance Marine under her belt, I'm not surprised. That kind of experience is like gold to mercenary groups like the ERCS. They are always looking for new blood, especially non-conventional. Gives them an edge for the short time."

"At least it doesn't take our Cat-6 dropouts," Ashley muttered as she recalled what she knew about Elanus Risk Control Services. "And they try to be legal with their jobs, unlike the Blue Suns."

After a short tour through the reception, the team arrived in the main hall of the facility. Port Hanshan was, despite being an old settlement, a relatively small one. Noveria was not a place one would want to raise a family, so people staying would either be working there or merely passing by. Port Hanshan served as the main starport to the planet and as the unofficial capital of the colony. The main hall itself was large open space, with windows offering a view of the raging snowstorm, some of which had been closed due to said storm raging outside.

"Right, no point of us all filing into the office," Nihlus said as they made their way over, guards watching them closely at every corner. "Williams, Shepard, you're with me. Rest of you get about 15 minutes of free time. Don't stray too far."

After a chorus of affirmatives and quick check on location of the closest bar, the group dispersed. Nihlus lead the two Spectre candidates to the side where the Administrator's offices were. A human woman was there to greet them. Ashley had to ignore how gaudy the pink dress suit seemed to her.

"Good evening, my name is Gianna Parasini. How may I help?" she asked, lifting her gaze from the computer screen.

"We are here to talk with the Administrator," Nihlus responded. "Official Spectre business."

"The Administrator is very busy, he..." she began, but a beep from her computer quickly caught her attention. "He's waiting for you," Parasini nodded, gesturing them to continue past her. Nihlus nodded to her as they walked past her.

Administrator Anoleis, as it turned out, was a salarian. He constantly worked on his computer, thought Ashley could not see what he was doing.

"Spectre. Candidates. I do not have much time," Anoleis greeted them, without raising his head. "As such, we will deal with this quickly. Why are you here?"

"We are here to investigate possible link to a rogue Spectre," Nihlus responded, "and for that we require full access to a research site."

"I remember your last visit and what happened when the last Administrator let you into the labs," Anoleis responded, shutting down few of the screens while opening a new one, this one having the Binary Helix logo on it. "Now, I assume you mean Binary Helix, the company that former Spectre Arterius was stockholder of. I'm afraid I can't let you proceed."

Nihlus crossed his arms. "And why is that?"

"First, the port is in lockdown. The storm is too strong to risk it," Anoleis said, gesturing towards a window that had its protection screen closing down. "Second, Peak 15, their research laboratory, is also under a lockdown. We received a distress call several hours ago. Matriarch Benezia headed there before the storm picked up to sort it out," all three looked at each other at the mention of Benezia's name. _This could useful,_ was the unspoken agreement. "Finally," Anoleis pointed at Shepard, "she is a liability."

"Are you saying I am untrustworthy?" Shepard countered immediately.

"Your brother and indeed, your family, have several investments in corporations and Guilds operating here. Several of them are direct competitors of Binary Helix. I am not breaking the corporate secrets which have been entrusted to me to care for."

"I have no interest in industrial espionage," Shepard said, stepping forward.

"So you claim, yet you demand access to classified locations and files," Anoleis finally raised his head. "You would not be the first Spectre to... 'accidentally' leak information."

"Drop it, Shepard," Nihlus whispered before turning back to the salarian and raising his voice. "I see. That is... unfortunate. We will take our leave then."

"Yes. Please do so, far from this planet," Anoleis said as he returned to his screens. After they left his office and waved Parasini away, Ashley could no longer remain silent.

"What an asshole," she said.

"If he weren't Administrator I would challenge him for insulting me and my family's honor," Shepard grumbled, tapping the empty spot for the scabbard.

"He'd probably just hire a krogan to stand in," Nihlus muttered. "But he's not wrong… though usually it's people blaming Spectres for the leaks," he activated his omni-tool and opened the team frequency. "Everyone gather up. We need a plan."

"_You're gonna have to plan without me_," Wrex responded. _"This is one of rare places where you can get krogan biotic amps and I am _not _missing it. I'll link up with rest of you later._"

Nihlus didn't say anything, apparently he had been expecting something like this. Or at least Ashley assumed so, she was still not exactly sure of turian expressions, though working with two had made reading them easier. The rest of the team, however, responded with affirmatives and the team agreed to meet in a local bar.

"Before you go," Parasini said as Nihlus deactivated his omni-tool. "There's something I should talk to you about. You can't bludgeon through bureaucracy, but if you're heading to the mezzanine anyways, you may want to talk to Lorik Qui'in. He might be able to help you with getting to Peak 15."

"Why would you tell us this?" Ashley asked, immediately on guard. This reeked of a trap.

"Not everyone on Noveria has their head in the snow, and Anoleis is not the only one with a garage pass," Parasini said vaguely before there was a call. "Excuse me, I need to take this."

Ashley glanced to Shepard, who shrugged, and the group left the office and made their way up a few flights of stairs to the mezzanine elevator.

"So, your family has investments here?" Ashley asked as Nihlus hit the button to send them up.

"Most noble families do, though primarily just to encourage economic growth. We have some investments with Synthetic Insights, mostly because the VI work for terraforming Akko correlates with their research," she explained as she folded her arms, glancing at the ice-like tube surrounding them as they took the elevator up. "Still, I'm not sure I trust this Parasini."

"Me neither," Ashley said. "It reeks of a trap to get rid of us." Get them to do something illegal, then have snipers pick them off and wave off a Citadel investigation as 'they broke the law and would not come quietly'.

"Perhaps, but she's right: we won't be able to bludgeon our way through the paperwork," Nihlus said as he was checking his omni-tool. "Either way, it's an avenue we can take."

The elevator came to a halt and they saw the team sitting at a large table a floor above.

"How'd it go?" Tali asked as they approach the table.

"As expected, blocked all access." Nihlus explained. "The Administrator was being dense. I am also pretty sure he's been bribed."

"What, a shipment of fricken husks shows up in a geth outpost and that doesn't warrant any concerns?" Kaidan asked incredulously. "Something's being hidden here. Something that would get rich people in trouble if it came out."

"Which is why we need to find a way out of Port Hanshan," Shepard said. "I could talk to my uncle - he runs some stuff here and he might actually be on Noveria right now." Shepard paused, glancing around awkwardly.

"What's wrong?" Ashley asked.

"Well, it's my mother's brother, and she's… well, she never really liked him. She never explained why, but we never visited him and he never visited Akko. We've talked a few times, briefly, but that's about it."

"The issue is, however, exactly what Anoleis hinted at. You might not have plans for espionage," Nihlus pointed out, "but your connection to Binary Helix competitors will make everyone assume you are here to do so. Or if you aren't, you'll do so as a side thing."

"Worth a shot anyways," Shepard remarked as she shrugged. "If nothing else, we'll get a little more info. What about that link Parasini mentioned?"

"Hmm, I think we are better off finding information about that before we get tangled in some corporate fight," Nihlus nodded. "Thing about Noveria, and any corporate world in general, is that you can easily get caught in something big. These people do not play nice, especially outside Citadel jurisdiction."

"So, what shall we do?" Tali asked, gesturing with her hand.

"Shepard, Williams, Alenko, Jenkins, you check with Shepard's uncle. While risky, I doubt it will hurt our chances any more than Shepard's family connections do already. Garrus, Liara, and Tali, you're with me. We are going to poke around to see what we can find about Lorik Qui'in. Who he is, how is he connected to Binary Helix and what he can do to help us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Nihlus you son of a bitch, I never expected to see your face here."

"Good to see you too, Lilihierax," Nihlus answered as he shook hands with the turian, beige face paint along his jaw. "Still fixing ATVs?"

"Well I can't dodge grenades anymore, so yeah."

Nihlus shifted uncomfortably. "Look, about that…"

"Relax," Lilihierax said as he glanced towards the others. "You did what you had to to try and get us out of there alive. I'll take war wounds over dead any day."

"Something we should know?" Liara asked as she glanced between the two.

"We're both ex Armiger Legion operatives," Lilihierax explained. "Actually I think this was the mission that got you pegged as a Spectre candidate?"

"It was," Nihlus said with a nod. "Though, we can catch up once the mission's over. I don't suppose the name Lorik Qui'in means something to you, does it?"

"Yeah, poor guy's got a target on his back. Supposedly he's dug up some dirt that a 'certain important person' would rather keep quiet," he air quoted the person and Nihlus nodded, putting two and two together. "Though, if you need to get out of Port Hanshan, his garage pass is still good."

"So, he's trustworthy?" Tali asked.

"As far as any businessman in a corner can be," the turian mechanic shrugged. "Though, how do you plan on getting where you're going once you're outside?"

"We've got an M-35 Mako, military grade." Garrus chimed in. "Should be more than enough for the weather and with enough firepower to wreck anything in our way."

Lilihierax winced. "About that… normally we don't allow foreign vehicles into the bay. Technically a safety thing - we don't know if its rated for the weather or not. You'll have to use our own motor pool. Mostly M-29's and the VT7 variant. Anything bigger risks either causing the ice to break or gets toppled by the wind if it's not confirmed and rated for the weather."

"Mako's pretty safe, it has its own eezo core to balance itself," Tali commented.

"Sorry, but unless it has the official permit, I can't let it through without risking my own job."

"Then we'll make due," Nihlus said. "So, anything else we should know about Qui'in?"

"Just the common rumors about what's going on."

Their omni-tools chirped and Nihlus glanced down. "Excuse me a moment," he said as he walked a few steps away and answered.

"_Nihlus, it's Wrex."_

"What is it?"

"_I heard that the Mako wouldn't be rated for Noveria's surface from the hanar I bought amps from. I might have found a way to get it over. Though I'll need to do a favor for him, since he's also responsible for rating the vehicles, and it will have to be verified."_

"What 'favor'?" Nihlus asked suspiciously.

"_Nothing much. Just a package."_

Nihlus paused and weighed the options before nodding. "Will there be bodies involved?"

"_No bodies. Not unless someone wants a fight, which they shouldn't."_

"Then do it. I'd rather take an up to date military vehicle than a civilian owned one if we have the option."

"_Got it, I'll meet you at the mezzanine when I'm done."_

XXXXXXX

Etel tapped her foot as they waited in the reception area of the complex that her uncle had his office in. The receptionist had said that her uncle was in middle of a meeting and was thus unable to meet them yet.

"So, what does your uncle deal in?" Jenkins asked, looking around the place. "Biotech? Electronics? Software?"

"Now that you mention it, I don't actually know," Etel had to admit. "He is a local governor on my other uncle's, his brother's, planet. I do know he is more economically minded though. To point where he has his own office here."

"You're not worried there is conflict of interest there?" Williams asked, cocking her eyebrow. Etel tilted her head in response as she activated her omni-tool to take a look at what exactly he dealt in.

"I am not sure what you mean."

"Just saying that someone who is in a position of power might have temptation to abuse it."

"Look, I know that Alliance has a different history, maybe your Nobles were corrupt, but we have the Administration to keep us straight," Etel responded instantly.

"Hey, I didn't say he was corrupt," Williams said, raising her hands in front of her, "just saying that politicians and other rulers with ties to corporations tend to go badly. At least that's how it tends to go on Earth."

"Yeah, I mean, what was that UNAS war in 2098 with Panama?" Jenkins pointed out.

"Granted, Ackerman was a nutjob and got ousted pretty quickly," Kaidan noted. "It was early UNAS anyway, most of the legislation was half-finished and still being ironed out. The power shifted back to the Congress afterwards since there wasn't a continental civil war anymore."

"The Empire is not Earth," Etel said with finality. The Alliance marines looked at each other before shrugging, deciding to drop the matter and Etel had a chance to do a little more research on the area her uncle was responsible for.

Several individuals walked out of a door, nodding to the secretary as they left. The secretary turned towards them, "He'll see you now," she said.

Etel nodded, gesturing for the others to follow her and heading up the stairs. As they approached his office, she could hear voices.

"Good, good. This partnership is going to last a long time, I think."

"I hope so. Now, if you'll excuse me, my niece is here."

"Of course," after that, the door opened and several more business men walked out. Etel frowned as she noticed some of them had company logos on their suits, ones that were familiar looking.

_Hold on a moment,_ Etel thought with a frown before she was interrupted.

"Ah, at long last. Etel, a pleasure to finally meet you, in person and without your mother hanging over our shoulders," Etel's uncle greeted them as they stepped inside. He was a relatively lean, but fit man, with few light scars on the side of his head. What her mother had told Etel, he had used to be more active on the local defense forces. Then he had taken up running the economics for the House before taking charge of one of the settlements.

She bowed slightly. "A pleasure to meet you as well, uncle."

"Ah, always so formal. Come on, we are blood relatives and equals, no need to be so stiff. So, who are your friends?"

"Uncle, this is Ashley Williams, my co-candidate for the Spectres," Etel gestured towards Williams who nodded politely, "and these two are Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Corporal Richard Jenkins, both Alliance military. They are with us on this trip," Etel shifted herself slightly, now gesturing towards her uncle. "This is my uncle, Fulk of House Anjoy."

"House Enjoy?" Alenko asked, before seemingly realising what he said. Etel ignored it as the name just not translating into English well.

"Anjoy," Fulk corrected. "Do not worry, you are not the first one to get the pronunciation wrong," he waved his hand. "Admittedly, our House is relatively small, but we are proud of our heritage."

"So, you two part of the same House or...?" Jenkins asked, pointing between two.

"My sister married into House Shepard," her uncle answered. "Now, how can I help you? I doubt you came here just for a friendly visit, especially with friends and without calling me first."

"Peak 15," Williams explained. "We need to get there to follow up a lead on these geth attacks."

"Peak 15... Peak 15..." Fulk muttered and brought up information up on his computer. "That's a Binary Helix lab. I don't have passes for the place," he said, leaning back. "Only the Administrator and Binary Helix representatives can issue those. If I try to get one, they'll claim I am just trying to do some espionage for Genetics Foundry. We are in direct competition with them."

"I see..." Etel muttered. "So, how have you been otherwise? Haven't seen you on Akko for..." she paused. "Actually I've never seen you there."

"Oh, I have been there a few times, you just tend to be away," Fulk answered, leaning back in his chair. "I take my dear sister didn't mention my visits?"

"No, she didn't."

"Typical Hannah, once decides you're an unperson, she won't let it go," the man said, shaking his head.

"You two don't get along? You and your sister?" Williams asked. "I mean, I get some sibling rivalry, but to completely ignore your own siblings?"

"Hannah and I have some disagreements, over several things. Rather than agree to disagree, she prefers to pretend I don't exist as much as possible. Of course, she can't completely shut me out of her life. Family duties and such."

"Huh, so even Imperials have siblings holding grudges," Jenkins commented. "Some things never change."

Fulk chucked at the comment, while Williams gave Jenkins a look.

"So, can I help you some other way? I rarely get to see you. Maybe lunch later?" Fulk asked. "I mean, I barely hear any news from Akko that isn't public."

"Sorry, but we are in a little bit of a hurry, so I must decline," Etel said, raising her hand. "In fact, we need to rendezvous with rest of our squad. I'll see you another time."

"Very well. Good luck, and I hope to hear from you again!" Fulk shouted at them as they left. Once they were outside the office complex, Williams spoke up.

"Is it just me, or were those guys little bit suspicious?" she said, before hastily adding. "Not speaking about your uncle, of course. I mean those suits he was meeting."

"Yeah, but..." Alenko began, taking a quick look at Etel. Etel sighed and punched nearby wall. The stonework didn't give at all, and her hand hurt a bit but no more than what she was accustomed to.

"Well, that figures why mom never speaks about him," she said as she let her hand slid off the wall.

"Oh?" Williams responded as they started to walk towards the rendezvous. "I mean, yeah he was kinda suspicious and all, but I don't think that's enough reason to cut off all contact."

"My uncle is responsible for a sizable city, related towns, and nearby suburbs. Those suits were all from local corporations that have a monopoly in his area," Etel responded, picking up her pace again. "I don't know why the Administration has not caught up yet, or why mom hasn't given them a tip, but I am going to do it." As soon as she had a chance and a secure comm terminal, she was going to call Faris. He'd be happy to help and he'd prefer that over sorting through histories and lineages.

"Um, you're ratting out your uncle?" Alenko asked, raising his eyebrow.

"We Nobles have duties to uphold. He isn't, so he is not fit of his position," Etel answered, taking a look at her omni-tool to find a route to their rendezvous point. "The system is in place for a reason. Once I call them, they will launch an investigation. It should be a simple matter and then the place will get someone better fit for the position who isn't lining the pockets of his friends."

The Alliance soldiers didn't say anything, merely looking at each other and then at Etel. She knew the look - they didn't believe her. _Well, maybe seeing it in action will help,_ she thought.

Williams activated her omni-tool. "Nihlus, we're heading back, no luck. You?"

"_Yes, I had some. We'll meet back at the mezzanine. Though, the Mako is a no-go unless the solution Wrex has works."_

"He's going to be annoyed," Jenkins muttered. "And probably why he's trying to get it through."

XXXXX

"Lorik Qui'in?" Nihlus asked as Etel stood to his left. Williams was to Nihlus' right with Alenko and Liara behind them.

"Who's asking?" a turian with a darker carapace and white face paint asked. Etel noticed that the blue pattern on the suit was rather similar to the color scheme Garrus wore.

"Nihlus Kryik."

"Ah, the Spectre," the sitting turian said as he gestured to the chair. "Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?"

Nihlus didn't sit. "I was told you could help me… with a garage pass."

"Ah, how fortuitous, I have one and I could use your help. I'm the manager of the local Synthetic Insights office."

_Interesting coincidence,_ Etel thought with a faint smirk.

"Or was," Qui'in continued. "You see, Administrator Anoleis is investigating me on charges of corruption. He's an interesting man, the Administrator… he's become quite wealthy since taking direct control of Port Hanshan's rents."

"I don't need a degree in economics to see a connection there," Williams remarked dryly.

"Indeed. He paid several of Captain Matsuo's officers, after hours and under the table, to ransack my office for evidence of the Administrator's activities with the charge as a facade of legality for the action. I believe we can help each other. I'll give you my garage pass, as well as a sum of credits, in exchange for recovering my data.

"And how do we know your card still works?" Etel asked. "I mean, if you've been charged with corruption, keeping you from leaving would be step one."

"Why should he? It's only a 'cursory investigation' and besides, there's nothing outside but snow and hungry nathak. Believe it or not, those beasts do like the taste of turian flesh. Or anyone's, really."

"Big predators?" Alenko asked.

"No, scavengers. Similar to varren," Liara chimed in. "I've had to chase a few away from dig sites."

"Regardless, we'll do it." Nihlus said.

"Good, however, you will need access. Anoleis locked me out of my own office. The charges, of course."

"Not a problem," Etel said. "My family have investments there; it's well within my right to access an office to make sure that the House's money is being used properly."

Qui'in nodded and slid an OSD over the table. "Then all you need is this; when you plug it into my computer it will auto-execute an encryption key to recover the data. Bring it back to me with the data, and you'll have your garage pass. Though before you go… you're looking for a Matriarch Benezia?"

"Maybe," Nihlus said evasively. "Why?"

"She passed through here a few days ago."

"My mother's here?" Liara asked, eyes wide as she stepped forward.

"Oh yes, and quite dressed for the role as Saren's executor for the Binary Helix facility, shuttle full of commandos and crates. That was fairly normal for an emergency. But an asari matriarch in a pinstripe suit? It had tongues wagging amongst the male employees. So to speak."

Etel rolled her eyes. _Why God decided to use hormones to encourage families I'll never understand…_ she thought. The salarians didn't need that, why did most other species need to evolve with it? _Then again, the salarians don't really have 'love' as we know it..._

Liara took a step back, looking down awkwardly. "Yes, males tend to have… unusual expectations of my species…"

"I blame the extranet," Williams commented. "And video games."

"I dunno, an asari matriarch in a pinstripe suit sounds like one of those extranet fetish sites. Not that I uh, know anything about it…" Alenko remarked as he glanced towards where Tali was sitting a floor above, talking with Garrus.

"Thank you for the information," Nihlus said as he gave the team a glance and gestured towards the elevator. "Now, if you'll excuse us…"

"Of course," Qui'in said as he returned to his drink. As they walked back up, Liara looked between them uncertainly.

"So, what's the plan?" Tali asked as they regrouped.

"We're going to acquire evidence of the Administrator's corruption for a garage pass," Nihlus explained as they heard dull thuds. They turned to see Wrex walking up.

"Done, and no bodies," the krogan grumbled.

"What's done?" Etel asked, looking at the krogan as she realized something likely illegal had just happened. "On the second thought, maybe it's better I don't know."

"You're learning," Nihlus said with amused tone.

"Though, we also knew Benezia's here," Williams added. "So something big is going on in Peak 15."

"I imagine you'll want to ask me about my mother," Liara said. "I mean, if we're going to be facing her."

"What, that you'll turn on us for her?" Wrex asked. "I don't think so. Anyone else? Williams?"

The Lieutenant-Commander looked at the krogan and the two stared before Williams shrugged. "Liara already told us all she knew."

_That's not an answer,_ Etel noted immediately. She was dodging the question, but the krogan was either satisfied or considered it good enough.

"Thank you," Liara said uncertainly. "But, if she is here we have to be careful. She's one of the most powerful biotics around."

"They all still drop from a good shot," Wrex responded. "Hit her hard and fast, before she has time to build up momentum to throw attacks at us."

"You know," Williams said, "I know we are supposed to plan this as attacking the enemy, but..." Williams pointed at Liara, "Isn't it kinda morbid to talk about this like we are most definitely going in to kill her mother in front of her?"

"If we're going to fight her, a plan is critical," Liara answered uncertainly. "But… I don't know what to say other than the power of her biotics."

"We first need to get into Peak 15," Nihlus noted as he looked around before lowering his voice. "And as of now, it looks like it'll be forced entry. So we'll likely need the Mako once we get to the garage."

"Though until we can get out, this isn't going to do much. We should get the data now," Garrus said. "Who's hitting the office?"

"All of us, we don't know how many ERCS guards have been bribed, so I'd rather outnumber them so we can avoid a firefight instead of having to explain to the good captain why we had to gun down her men," Nihlus explained. "Try not to start a shooting match if you can."

XXXXXX

"Halt, ERCS! What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to check on my family's investments here," Shepard said. Ashley was right behind the knight and Kaidan was on the other flank, the rest of the team behind them.

"Large group for just checking some files," the female mercenary noted as she looked at the heavily armed and armored team. The turian behind her looked uncomfortable as he held his shotgun more tightly.

"If I wanted to ransack the office, you probably wouldn't be standing. After all, if Anoleis is paying you under the table…"

The two mercenaries glanced up each other before the turian shrugged. The woman continued; "Hey, he's got a varren up his ass about Qui'in. But I'd rather not get eaten by a krogan for some lizard."

"Aw, I heard human liver tasted great when sprinkled with ground turian carapace," Wrex moaned and the humans and turians in the room turned to stare at the krogan.

"The fuck?" Jenkins asked, taking several large steps away from the krogan. Meanwhile, the two mercenaries quickly left.

"You were joking, right?" Ashley asked as she was still staring at the krogan battlemaster. "Or at least you don't _want_ to try it?"

"What do you think?" the krogan rumbled before grinning. "Now let's get this over with."

Ashley glanced towards Shepard and the knight just shrugged as they made their way up to Qui'in's office. Several more ERCS guards were around, but seeing the number of people against them they backed off and left.

"Here's the office," Ashley said as the last guard was hurrying away. "Who's accessing the data? Tali?"

"No problem," the quarian said as Nihlus handed her the OSD and she accessed the computer. The rest of the team stood around the office, waiting. Jenkins was checking the photos on the wall, which Garrus and Nihlus identified as being from turian colonies, even identifying the colony… from Qui'in's facepaint.

_I guess every society's got its own bit of tribalism,_ Ashley thought in amusement as she watched them. No matter how big the scale got, people found ways to differentiate themselves. Sub-states within a larger nation, cities, sports teams… they found something.

Though her musing was interrupted when a disc landed at the door. "Shit _GRENADE_!" Ashley shouted as she recognized the make. Kaidan reacted first, putting up a biotic barrier as it went off and bullets started sailing into the office as Ashley was throwing herself back.

"Two mercs!" Shepard shouted as she put a barrier up around her and charged out of the office. Ashley pushed herself back up and followed behind, suppressing the two guards with assault rifle fire as her kinetic barrier took several hits. The guard on the left, a turian, collapsed as Ashley overwhelmed his barrier while the one on the right found an omni-blade going into his head, shattering against his kinetic barrier before a biotic punch launched him across the waiting room they had ambushed from.

Ashley moved forward, checking the corners as the others moved out with weapons raised. Liara stayed close behind Kaidan as they moved and Ashley noticed that she was starting to get the hang of clearing corners, keeping a proper interval from Kaidan while being in a position to back him up.

"Clear!" Jenkins called as he finished checking a corner.

"All clear here," Wrex said as he was checking the floor below.

"Looks like it was two idiots," Garrus said. "Not a big deal."

"That probably means we'll see company soon," Nihlus said as he was checking the two mercenaries, Elanus Risk Control Services mercenaries. "Shepard, Williams, with me. We'll meet the next group. I want the rest of you to hide and wait for the order to attack. Might as well clean up for Matsuo while we're here."

They didn't have to wait long. As Tali finished gathering up the data, a human woman - one who had been at the docks to meet them but hadn't spoken - marched in with almost ten more mercenaries behind her, mostly humans and turians but there was one helmetless asari who looked younger than Liara.

"Well well," she said. "What have we here?"

"Cop killers I'd say, Sergeant Stirling," one of the soldiers next to her remarked. Both groups drew weapons and aimed.

"Well, you idiots know what we did to cop killers on my homeworld?"

"You know what we do to corrupt cops on Akko?" Shepard responded as she held her shotgun tightly. "You'd be surprised how long you can remain conscious with a poor hangman."

"Please, you're outnumbered," the sergeant snorted. "Now why don't you three come quietly and we won't have to feed you to the nathak. They've never tasted inbred Imp nobles before."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Sloppy. Matsuo never taught you cheerleaders anything that a proper marine learns, did she?"

"Oh really?"

"Gentlemen, why don't you express your discontent?" Nihlus said, turning theatrically as the rest of the team save Garrus stepped out of cover. Liara, Tali, and Kaidan came out from behind the chairs at the top of the stairwell, the biotics glowing while Tali innocently waved an active omni-tool. The guards took a step back only to see Wrex and Jenkins had flanked them and had already taken aim.

"We still outnumber you," Stirling said as a red dot appeared on her forehead.

"Nice zit," Ashley remarked. "Garrus, don't remove it yet."

Stirling's eyes went wide as she realized there was a laser sight aimed at her head as Garrus, perched in the office above, had aimed right for her head.

"Now, you want to lose your head, or are you going to let us pass?" Nihlus asked as he tilted his head briefly. The ERCS soldiers looked around uneasily.

"ATTACK!" Stirling shouted as she glowed blue and threw up a biotic barrier.

The battle - massacre really - was over in seconds. Stirling's biotic barrier collapsed as Kaidan and Liara warped the barrier with their own biotics and Garrus punched through the front with his sniper rifle, hitting Stirling in the head and putting a hole through her skull that went out the other end and into the leg of the asari behind her. The asari was unable to get a biotic attack off either as Tali used that chance to hit her with a tech disc that shocked her. Shepard launched a biotic shockwave into the mass, Ashley and Jenkins opened fire with their assault rifles. Bullets and shotgun pellets ripped through the mix and tore through kinetic barriers, ceramic armor, and flesh alike.

Seconds after the ill-fated order, the only people alive in the Synthetic Insights building were those who served aboard the _SSV Normandy._

"Idiots," Wrex muttered as he walked up and prodded Stirling's body with his foot. The former sergeant still looked smug despite the hole between her eyes as the prod rolled her onto her stomach.

"Sorry about the friendly fire," Ashley said.

"It's a cross fire and K-Barriers took it," the krogan said with a shrug. "It happens."

"Let's get this data back to Qui'in," Shepard said as she gestured towards the exit. "And maybe explain this to Captain Matsuo…"

XXXXXX

When the group left the office, they quickly found themselves meeting Anoleis' secretary, Parasini. She was clapping her hands slowly, walking towards them as they left the elevator that linked to the Synthetic Insights offices before adopting a more serious expression.

"When I suggested you contact Qui'in, I didn't expect you to fix the issue with the corrupt guards too," she said. "Now, you got the evidence?"

"Depends on why you are asking," Nihlus responded. Etel knew that this was most likely going to end badly for someone. _Just need to pray we're not the ones it ends badly for,_ she thought as she looked at the secretary.

"Ah, allow me to properly introduce myself. Gianna Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs. Anoleis never suspected that someone who had only recently moved from the Alliance to work on Noveria might be a spy," she said, taking out an identification card and showing it to them.

"I suspect you want us to give you this evidence?" Nihlus answered, taking out the OSD and holding it between his fingers.

"Yes, and if you can get Qui'in also testify against Anoleis, I can guarantee that the Committee won't learn about you until you return. So there'd be no need to worry about possible reinforcements while you do whatever you plan to do. Your little... operation will be kept under the hood until you are done."

"I see..." Nihlus muttered. "What made the Committee decide to pay attention to a corrupt official all the sudden?"

"There is one simple rule here on Noveria. We are all on the same boat. Don't rock it," Parasini answered nonchalantly, "I would also suggest that you _don't_ go to Anoleis. He is more likely to shoot you in the back to cover his own ass then help you."

"Can't say that I'm surprised," Etel commented as she heard Williams mutter something about the 'lizard' being slimey from the start.

"I will see what we can do. No promises."

Parasini simply nodded. "I'll be waiting at the office - if he testifies, you might even see an arrest." With that, she turned and walked away.

"You think we can trust her?" Williams asked as soon as Parasini was outside of earshot. "I mean, she did give us a good tip, but…"

Nihlus put a hand on his chin. "No, if Parasini meant to set us up, she would have hit us already before we were in a public place. A public spectacle just invites more trouble."

Etel nodded. That made sense, and picking a fight with the Citadel was something that Noveria could not afford. Their position, while secure, depended on the Citadel being willing to accept the situation.

They returned to the mezzanine, Jenkins, Liara, and Alenko sticking near the door while the rest of the team went off to do their own thing for a few minutes. Nihlus lead the two candidates to Qui'in.

"Welcome back," he said. "I heard that there was an incident in the office. Word travels fast; I take it you have the data?"

"We do," Nihlus said. "Though, we were also approached by an Internal Affairs agent."

Qui'in's tone immediately hardened. "I see. Well, the deal still stands unless he said something to change your mind?"

"The agent recommended you testify against Anoleis," Williams explained. "Apparently Noveria's bigwigs aren't happy with him either."

"So, now that you have my property you want to dictate how I use it?" Qui'in snarled back, leaning forward. "I have no interest in a public spectacle!"

"I don't blame you," Etel said as she stepped forward. "But people here are chafing under Anoleis' corruption. And it's not like it'd be you alone - you're not going up against Anoleis by yourself, Noveria's own executive board is after him and you can give them the weapon to finally get rid of him."

"I'm aware of the honor code your family lives by, Shepard. I'm no fool, I did my research while you were gone. But this isn't the Empire. I have no obligation to drag myself through the mud."

"You might not," she countered, "but Anoleis is supposed to be looking out for everyone here. Seems to me he's looking out for his own pocket, at everyone's expense. You could get rid of him… Synthetic Insights already has a hard enough time staying above water with the public. They all expect another geth uprising from your research. One of its managers exposing corruption? You'd be a hero and you'd do a great service to your company."

Qui'in sighed and she knew she had gotten through to him. "Well, I see I can't persuade you. Alright, I'll testify. Tell the internal affairs agent that I'll be waiting here, though give me the evidence first. Tell her to ask me how many nathak that my father shot the last time he was here."

"Thank you," Nihlus said as he handed the OSD over. "And the garage pass?"

"Right here," he said, pulling out a small identification card. "And I'll wire the credits to the account of your choice."

"Appreciated," Nihlus said with a nod. Etel raised an eyebrow. She would have let him keep the money - he was going to need it.

As they walked away, though, Williams spoke up. "You sure we should take the money? I mean, we did kinda ask a lot more of him than the original deal."

"We did, but as a Spectre you'll find yourself taking every credit you can scape. And if you end up not using it, well, there's a lot of good places that money can go to later," he explained as he gestured back towards the elevator.

Parasini was waiting for them back in Anoleis' office. "So, will Qui'in testify?" she asked.

"Ask him how many nathak his father shot the last time he was here, he'll give you all you need to know," Etel explained. "He'll testify."

Parasini sighed. "You have no idea how much of a relief this is. I've been stuck here for months, and that lizard never slipped around me." She reached under her table and drew a pistol - which Etel immediately recognized from the Hospitaller's own armories - a surplus turian pistol from Haliat Armory.

"You want any help?" Nihlus asked.

"Nah, though feel free to watch." She smirked almost a bit too wide for Etel's tastes. "This is going to be enjoyable."

She walked into Anoleis' office as they listened through the window. _"Parasini, I didn't send for… what is that pistol for?"_ A loud smack cut him off.

"_Bel Anoleis, you're under arrest."_

"_Get your hands off me woman!"_ he shouted, and Parasini came out a few moments later pushing the salarian along. "You, Spectre! Arrest this bitch! Enforce the law, damn it!"

"I am," Nihlus said as he folded his arms nonchalantly.

"You have the right to remain silent," Parasini added. "And I wish to god you'd use it!"

Etel shook her head. The now former administrator of Port Hanshan was still arguing the whole way.

"That went well," Williams remarked. "So… Peak 15?"

"Let's make the arrangements," Nihlus said as he activated his omni-tool. "We'll need to get the Mako checked and into the garage."

XXXXXXXX

**Half an Hour Later**

_**SSV Normandy**_** Engineering Bay**

"Can't say I ever expected to see a hanar on a military ship," Ashley remarked as the hanar merchant and apparent vehicle inspector of Port Hanshan floated towards the M-35 with an active omni-tool around its tentacles. That was almost a stranger sight than a floating pink jellyfish being around at all.

"You'd be surprised what hanar can do," Shepard responded.

"How long is it going to take, Opold?" Nihlus asked.

"One moment," the hanar merchant said as Adams walked up. "This one needs to scan the current paradigm of eezo auto-balancing. That seems to be the main problem with this vehicle."

"It'll take at least fifteen minutes to readjust it and another ten to run checks," Adams said as he was checking his own omni-tool. "I'd go read a book or something, Commander; this is just legwork."

"In that case, I have a call to make." Shepard gestured up and Ashley nodded. The two candidates, Jenkins, and Kaidan took the elevator up while the rest of the team was either checking their equipment or in Liara's case, reading something on her omni-tool.

"You sure about this?" Kaidan asked. "I mean, wouldn't someone have called already if they thought he was crooked?"

"How many people would actually see the business being done, and the deals made?" she answered. "Anoleis was good enough to keep the Executive Board from being able to act against him, I don't see why my uncle couldn't keep the average person in the dark about the monopolies. If nothing else, I'll put the Administration on his scent.

Ashley still felt like this was not going to go the way she was hoping as they reached the briefing room and Shepard punched in the number. A moment later, a hologram materialized of a young man wearing a relatively fancy outfit that seemed a bit large for him.

"_Ah, Sir Shepard. Good to hear from you again,"_ he said with a small bow.

"You can call me Etel, Faris, we're past formalities," Shepard answered. "Though this isn't a social call, I'm afraid."

"_Then I am afraid I need to follow the procedure. These things do get recorded, as you know," _the man responded.

"Fine. I want to file a complaint about a Noble," Shepard said. "Fulk Anjoy. I have a strong suspicion that he is dealing in monopolies."

"_Fulk Anjoy..."_ Faris responded, tapping something at his end. _"Ah yes, him."_

"You know him?"

"_Him and his case, yes," _Faris said, scratching his chin. _"We had seven investigations so far and nothing _illegal_ was found." _

Ashley knew there was a reason that he emphasized 'illegal', and Shepard seemed to pick up on it too, frowning as Faris continued.

"_He maintains his duties, his fief is ruled through the law and commoners had very little to complain, apart from standard complaints about taxes which is something you hear just about anywhere. Including Akko."_

"I guess no one appreciates taxes," Jenkins muttered with a faint smirk.

"Not now," Ashley snapped back quietly as Shepard folded her arms.

"So, he's lining the pockets of his friends through his position and nothing is going to be done?" Shepard asked the hapless official.

"_We've tried,"_ he answered, _"but he's never actually done anything illegal. House Anjoy was within its rights for local permits on businesses, and their defense of that law is sound - they've had businesses taking advantage of their more flexible zoning and didn't want to get rid of that flexibility to stop it, so they switched to manually accepting businesses when they want to set up somewhere."_

"Well, at least keep an eye on him."

"_We always keep watch,"_ Faris said before tapping something on his end. _"Now that that's over… look, I'm sorry, but my hands are tied here. There's a bit of distaste for going after House Anjoy. Unless we can get something solid, like a meeting transcript that would prove he meets with these people not to discuss their legal obligations, but how to game the system, we can't do anything. The law must be upheld, or we are no better than the Terminus," _Faris looked around before lowering his voice.

"_There is also the fact that House Anjoy is starting to react. Last time the investigator barely managed to keep his job. One more failed investigation, and they might launch a full-scale legal action against the Administration, accusing us bias and slander. Nobody wants to be the one to start _that._ They are an old and respected House and if they start accusing us of bias..."_

"I understand. The Administration needs to remain Houseless for it to work. Thank you for your time," Shepard said, her head hanging low and voice sounding defeated.

"_Have a good day, and should you come across anything else, do not hesitate to call us,"_ the line disconnected and the hologram disappeared.

"Well," Jenkins remarked. "I guess the Empire and Earth isn't so different after all."

Shepard however, didn't say anything, didn't even look at them as she walked out of the briefing room.

"What?" Jenkins asked as he found both his superior officers staring at him.

"Did you really need to make a comment about it?" Ashley asked.

"Sorry, I thought that just saying that people are the same on both sides of the border would be okay," Jenkins responded, raising his arms defensively.

"Maybe at some other time, but this was not definitely not the right time." Kaidan explained. "I mean, we've seen how seriously she takes that honor code of hers. To not be able to do anything about it is bad enough, but finding out her uncle's doing it?"

"Good point," Jenkins admitted. "Though uh… don't tell me you guys weren't thinking that she needed a slap in the face about reality, right?"

"She did," Ashley admitted as she looked towards the CIC and mused on how many of those sappy poems her dad had loved involved people getting comeuppance for their hubris. "And she set herself up for it all too well… but that doesn't mean we should kick her while she's down."

Jenkins glanced down briefly. "She's uh, going to be okay, right? I mean, we still have to raid a lab in the middle of a lockdown that's probably making a horror movie look nice."

"We've got some time until then," Kaidan said as he rubbed his chin. "Honestly, I think she'd like that at this point. Something to take her mind off of it."

"Until then, she'll just have to try and figure out what happened," Ashley said as she checked the time. "Mmm. Actually, we should grab a breaching charge or two if we're doing a break in..."

XXXXX

"Captain Matsuo," Nihlus said as the Mako was being transferred to the garage, cleared to travel. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I heard you gunned down a dozen of my men," she said. The fact that she was alone, however, clued Nihlus in that this was not an attempted arrest.

"Sorry, but they were working under the table and illegally. Then they tried to kill us, not much room to argue."

"Sorry?" Matuso asked. "Damn it, I'm glad you cleaned them out. I told them not to take money under the table, the idiots decided to make like Cat 6 dropouts and took an illegal job. I'm more disappointed that I couldn't kill them myself."

"Next time," Williams said with a faint shrug. "So, how you going to explain this to the brass?"

"Tell the truth - they worked under the table while I was handling paperwork that they demanded I get done immediately, they walked into a trap like a bunch of two bit thugs and got torn up by a professional team. I could probably even push to step up training in response to that."

"Sounds like things are looking up," Nihlus said.

"For now. Good luck with whatever you're doing." With that she gave a brief salute and walked off. Parasini walked up to them not a moment later.

"Good news, Spectre Kryik: the executive board has no idea, and I was able to get you a pass into Peak 15. No need to breach the facilities," Parasini explained as she handed the pass to him. Nihlus took it and nodded, pocketing it.

"Aw, I brought the breaching charges…" Williams muttered.

"You may still need them," she warned. "Peak 15 had sent us a Code Omega - seal everything and if containment is confirmed to have failed, nuke the site from orbit. And that's _not_ hyperbole, one of the defense stations acquired a targeting solution two hours ago."

"Can you call it off?" Nihlus asked. "Or at least widen the margin of error."

"Widen the margin, yes, but if the lab is breached and things start to spill out of control they will drop the warheads. That means that whatever is left of the site will sink into several kilometers of ice. I'd recommend activating the lab's own systems if you can, it'd be far more precise and would allow us to call it off entirely if we can confirm the lab's own containment systems are in effect."

"Thanks. Anything else?"

"Her," Parasini said, pointing to Shepard. "Not my call personally, but the board would slit my throat if I let her into Peak 15. She'll need to stay behind."

"I'm not interested in corporate espionage," Shepard said, though lacking the conviction she usually had.

"I believe it, but we rely on corporations not expecting it. Besides, if you're here you could probably help us keep in contact with you out there."

"Then talk to the _Normandy_," Williams said. "They've got stronger systems than her omni-tool and we don't know what we'll face there."

"Again, it's not the call I'd make but I have a job to do. She can enter the garage, but given we aren't likely to be able to track you at Peak 15 she won't be allowed to go any further."

"I see. Thank you for telling us," Nihlus said as he weighed the options of keeping his team's firepower maximized and corporate politics.

"Sorry to do that. Once everyone leaves, Shepard, come to the mezzanine, I owe you all a beer and I can get you one now while you wait."

Shepard simply nodded and Parasini walked off.

"Come on, let's check the garage," Nihlus said, gesturing them along.

The garage was large - large enough to fit a full turian fighter wing, and numerous vehicles lined the walls as well as large amounts of shipping crates waiting next to hovertrucks, some loaded and waiting for the storm to clear, some stacked up. A few mechanics were performing repairs as well.

"So, we're going in down one?" Garrus asked as Nihlus filled them in on Parasini's update about their permitted squad composition.

"Businessmen. Never appreciate actual danger unless there's a gun to their heads," Wrex muttered.

"They have to mind their reputation," Nihlus said when he heard something rumble. "Hold on a second... weapons out."

"What?" Liara asked as everyone grabbed their firearms.

"Shhh, listen," Nihlus ordered as he looked at a crate that had its end loosening. A crate with the Binary Helix logo.

"Hoo boy…" Alenko said as he seemed to figure out what was about to happen.

"Everyone get down!" Nihlus shouted, and the crates fully opened, geth infantry pouring out of them and opening fire.

The team reacted, spreading out and returning fire as mechanics screamed and hurried for cover. Nihlus glanced down as his omni-tool beeped. "Damn it, we're being jammed!"

"There's got to be a Prime or something around here!" Tali shouted as she overloaded a gun drone that had tried to fly over them and the small flier exploded.

"Vakarian, Williams, find it and snipe it!" he ordered, putting their two anti-armor snipers on that job.

"Liara, singularity on that group by the green VT7, full power!" Alenko shouted.

"Got it!" the asari answered as Wrex charged into a Destroyer that was heading for the Mako and collided with the shotgun wielding synthetic. Nihlus looked up as he was about to throw a grenade when he saw some mechanics being chased by a pair of troopers.

"Shit," he muttered as he activated his jet boots and shot out of cover, sprinting over and taking out both troopers.

"Where the fuck did they come from?" the mechanic asked.

"The crates," Nihlus explained as he looked at the turian mechanic who had spoken up. "Lilihierax, take my assault rifle and get the mechanics out of here, we've got this!"

"I'll get Captain Matsuo!" he said as Nihlus handed the Phaeston to him and he switched to his shotgun, moving forward as Shepard and Wrex had intercepted more Destroyers and the Prime had moved out into the middle of the garage, firing away with its pulse cannon.

Nihlus leapt behind a geth sniper that had hit Jenkins and wounded the marine, stabbing it in the back with his omni-blade before turning and overloading another geth trooper.

"_Herd's thinning!"_ Shepard shouted as he heard an explosion and saw a piece of a Destroyer landing nearby.

"_Bring down that Prime's shields!"_ Williams ordered as sniper fire rang out from the back end of the garage and Nihlus looked up to see the two armor piercing rounds hitting the Prime's kinetic barrier.

Nihlus glanced around and noticed that Wrex and Shepard were both close to the Mako. "Wrex, Shepard, get in the Mako and use it against the Prime! Everyone else, keep it in place!"

The Prime turned to fire on the snipers and fired its pulse cannon, forcing both Vakarian and Williams to move to a new position, but the Prime found itself taking the brunt of the assault as everyone else was pouring the fire on.

Then Nihlus was nearly deafened as a cannon fired and the Prime was knocked onto its backside, its weakened barriers shattering as the 155mm mass accelerator round hit it directly.

"_Spread out and secure the area!"_ another woman shouted over an intercom and more fire shot towards the prone Prime.

"Prime's down!" Nihlus called as the Mako's machine gun stopped firing and all that remained of the jamming heavy platform was scrap metal. "We clear?"

"_Everything's clear,"_ Shepard reported.

"Good. Everyone meet by the Mako, and tell Captain Matsuo we'll talk to her there."

A minute later, everyone had gathered and Matsuo had three ERCS mercenaries with her while the rest were securing the back of the garage.

"What just happened?" Matuso asked.

"There were geth in the crates. The _Binary Helix_ crates," Wrex supplied.

Matsuo sighed. "We scanned those crates when they were brought in. How did the geth get past them?"

"Removed the heat sinks, powered down, waited until they were through to power up?" Tali offered. "I mean, you can slip a synthetic past if they're powered down. Getting one past a scanner while active is difficult, but if you power it down and have some normal stuff that causes minor interference but does not hinder a scan, it could get missed."

Matsuo nodded. "Well, that makes you getting your mission done all the more imperative."

"Ma'am," another guard said carrying an extra assault rifle. "This belongs to the Spectre - one of the mechanics had it."

Matsuo raised an eyebrow. "Lent them a weapon?"

"Well there was someone who knew how to use it and we weren't necessarily going to be able to cover them," Nihlus explained with a shrug to brush it off as the soldier handed the rifle back to him.

"I see…" Matuso said. "Well, on with your mission, but Parasini-san's reminder still holds."

"I remember," Nihlus said and Matsuo turned, taking her guards away to check other parts of the garage.

"So… onto Peak 15?" Jenkins asked as Alenko finished checking the shoulder wound he had taken.

"Shepard," Nihlus said. "Get in the Mako."

XXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_\- Well, Shepard's idealism had to hit a brick wall at some point. We always wanted Shepard to be, essentially, the Empire's ideal. Not unlike the idea behind real life knights or even Japanese Samurai - they were supposed to embody the ideals of their society. And while certainly some did uphold that, a lot of them would fall short in some way, but the ideal still existed. And well, sometimes the ideal is unaware of the old reality if not exposed to it. That does not mean that the ideal is lost, however._

_\- Lilihierax is also taken straight from canon - he's the mechanic in-game with the Jersey accent. Given that most turians have had military service, it felt like a good way to reasonably give more clues towards Nihlus' history as well as tie into the canon better by having him be Nihlus' main source on Noveria._

_\- Thanks to RheasHelm, Jozern, scottusa1, and everyone else for their reviews and feedback._

_\- While our readers are most likely already familiar on the nature of husks, the Citadel and other Mass Effect characters are not. As such, have a look into how Citadel approaches the case of husks for a Codex entry. The 'references' are to after-action reports._

XXXXXXXX

Citadel Security: Autopsy Report - Husks

Subjects show extensive cybernetic alterations down to the smallest detail. Brain tissue is heavily altered, with remaining non-affected parts decaying rapidly. Cybernetic implants have taken this position and are suspected to house the central processing unit. Eyes have been also replaced with cybernetics. Some subjects contain minor deviations on this area, for example, possessing three eyes, with the extra eye most commonly located on the left side. Genitalia has also been completely destroyed, either due to decay or cybernetics.

Husks have no water or minerals in their bodies. It is possible that these are removed as a part of the process or is a result of cybernetics forcing their way through the body. Muscle tissue is still within use, but is augmented with cybernetics. Bone structure has also been reinforced or fully replaced. Organs normally related to maintaining bodily functions have either been replaced, such as with capacitors, or left to decay.

Various subjects sent for the study show that the process is being refined constantly. Humans subjects recovered from Eden Prime (ref. AAR-SA/EP-HC) show more exposed implants, as well as crude form of EMP pulse generator which was non-functional. Subjects recovered from New Syracusae (ref. AAR-SE/NS-HC) and Therum (ref. AAR-SA/Th-HC) show much more refined versions, with more streamlined and hidden augmentations. The full purpose of capacitors was discovered on Rayingri (ref. AAR-SA/Ry-HC), reworked into internally based high explosives, turning the subject into a suicide bomb.

The quarian subjects recovered from New Syracusae show the same level of alteration, but also had a crude, non-working device in their arm. The device resembles an omni-tool. It is possible that the cybernetic implants merely incorporate existing omni-tool, as all quarians carry as part of their suits. However, quarian husks encountered on Rayingri used working omni-tools of unknown make. For additional details of cybernetics, refer to report CSA-H-G0702.

Turian subjects show least amount of direct changes. Apart from the same augmentations as other variants, they appear to retain most of their "normal" body. As of this report no exotic modifications (apart from "normal huskification") has been done to the turian husks. However, autopsies do indicate that turian subjects posses either an improved central processing unit, or maintain some form of memories. This manifests in the husks' capacity to use basic firearms and employ squad tactics.

Asari subjects show the most individual power. Unlike other husks, they are able to utilize biotics and have the previously unheard of ability to launch themselves forward in the form of a biotic charge. How this is accomplished is unknown as subjects begin to burn up upon destruction, though it is unknown if this is a deliberate self-destruct mechanism or side-effect of battle damage. Also noted to scream persistently during battle, though this seems to be merely a form of psychological warfare.

Subjects may also be combined into larger variants, though this ability has so far only been exhibited with human husks. There are two known variants; the first variant encountered on New Syracusae is formed from three human husks welded together, forming an armored core, a set of legs, and a cannon firing ammunition not unlike biotically augmented ammunition used by Asari Commandos.

The second version, codenamed "Praetorians" from an intercepted transmission (see AAR-SA/Th-HC), is formed from approximately thirty husks and are formed into a core with an armored shell, wielding particle beams and can create biotically based barriers. Interestingly enough, these do not require biotically capable subjects, indicating a more advanced level of element zero usage by the creators. This report suggests use of anti-tank weaponry against the subject as small arms seem to have negligible effect.

Addendum: Reports from Professor Mordin Solus indicate even more advanced versions of various subjects are being deployed. This report incorporates his initial findings and a more comprehensive report is being compiled. These, alongside codenames, will be submitted within next two standard weeks.


	19. Priority: Noveria - Peak 15

Warnings about the storm had not been exaggerated. More than once, Ashley had to stretch her driving skills to their limit to prevent the Mako from slipping into ravines due to the sheer wind. Normally she would have merely increased the Mako's mass to the point where the wind would not have been an issue, but the treacherous snow hid numerous ledges that were not made of rock, but ice. Increasing the mass too quickly at the wrong place could cause the ledge to collapse and take them with it.

And as if the storm was not enough, Benezia had left geth behind her. These lay hidden in the snow, springing out to ambush them when the Mako tried to drive past. Thankfully, the storm also worked for the team's advantage: the geth sensors were having issues detecting them. Issues to the point where there were a few times that the would be ambushers would stand up to attack, only to have already been run over.

"They didn't cover this in training," Ashley commented as she backed away from a turret that had, seemingly, appeared out of nowhere from the storm. "This storm makes it hard to see anything and sensors don't help much."

"It's a turret, it won't be going anywhere," Tali said, uploaded targeting data into the Mako's computers. "Just back away and we can shoot it where it can't see us."

"Good thinking," Shepard said. Ashley had noticed that Shepard had seemed to have gotten over the call to the Administration and hearing that there was nothing they could do about her corrupt uncle. _Then again, she might just have put it aside for after the mission. Might need to talk with her after this..._ she realized as Jenkins finished off the turret with a well placed cannon shot.

After a few more twists and turns, they approached the Peak 15 facility. Ashley slowed down as the sensors, with what little they managed to pick up, told her that the ground was not as solid as it seemed under the snow. In fact, suspension was reporting that two wheels were not actually touching anything.

Then the ice broke.

Ashley hit the boosters, making the Mako jump up, but the wind caught it and started to move it away from the road and into the ravine.

"SHIFT THE FIELD! MOVE OUR MASS TO RIGHT!" Tali shouted immediately. Not having time to think, Ashley did what she was told. The Mako tilted in the air, wind still making it move towards the ravine. "NOW RESET IT AND HIT THE BOOSTERS AGAIN!"

Once again, Ashley did what she told. The Mako's field reset back to its original configuration and Ashley hit the boosters. For once, she was happy that the designers of Mako had made the boosters slightly stronger than needed, as the Mako stopped flying towards the ravine and back towards the safety of the solid ground, landing just off the edge of the ice. The IFV somersaulted once, giving everyone aboard bruises, but Ashley considered it agreeable trade-off compared to falling into a ravine.

"Let's... not drive that way again, okay?" someone said. Ashley suspected it was Jenkins, but she couldn't be sure as she was too focused on trying to get her heart rate back to a reasonable pace.

"Agreed," she managed to answer as she took a deep breath. "Good thinking, Tali."

"Ooh, I am going to have bruises everywhere..." she moaned in response. "Could you please get off me, Wrex?"

"As soon as I untangle myself," the krogan grumbled.

Once they had their bearings again, Ashley drove to the half open garage door of Peak 15. Somewhat worryingly, the door had been bent at several locations, meaning it had been jammed half-open, not left that way. There were also several wrecked geth troopers around, showing varying levels of battle damage.

As they parked the Mako and entered the facility, they found more casualties. Destroyed synthetics, husks that had been shot dead, and several krogan corpses sporting the same cybernetics that the Battlemaster on Therum had. Many of the geth and krogan corpses faced inwards while the husks were facing towards the door.

"That's weird," Kaidan said. Ashley looked around and nodded.

"Positioning is all wrong," she commented, looking over the various corpses as she stopped by a husk sprawled over a Destroyer that was missing its legs. Shepard stood next to her while Jenkins, Wrex and Garrus spread out without word, covering the surrounding area.

"What do you mean?" Liara asked, tiling her head in confusion as she looked at the mess. "I mean, it looks like there was a battle here. Maybe whoever won recovered their own casualties. If they took any; Asari Commanders are the best soldiers in the galaxy."

Shepard pointed towards several clusters of corpses. "Then why are the husks facing towards geth corpses? If they were supporting the geth, they should be facing towards whatever the geth were attacking," Shepard noted. "That krogan there," she pointed towards an augmented krogan that was slumped next to a now crumpled snow blower, "he's lying in the wrong angle to have been shot by something. He looks more like he's been thrown into it."

"Maybe they were surprised?" Wrex suggested. "Geth fire doesn't seem to have been focused. It's possible something hit them hard and fast, before those husks managed to react. And if it was Asari Commandos..."

"Maybe," Nihlus interrupted, gesturing for Shepard to take the point. "Of course, maybe a security team here chose to fight back. Then again..." Nihlus looked at the intact vehicles, each one still in their place. "If they managed to clear the area of geth with krogan support, why didn't they bugger out, with or without their fallen friends? And if they fought, where are their corpses?"

"Smells like a trap," Ashley said, falling in behind Shepard as the knight gestured that it was all clear.

"But for who?" Nihlus responded. "Radio silence from now on, I don't want to give away our position."

The team fell silent as the group moved deeper to the silent facility. The lack of dead bodies was worrying, though Ashley wrote it off as the geth having collected them to produce more husks. _And we thought getting vented into vacuum was bad,_ she thought grimly as she considered how many naval crews and shipboard marines had empty graves.

Eventually, they came to an airlock, but something had struck them as they had moved through. Battle damage was to a minimal; few stray marks, almost no burns from grenades, not even discarded weapons. They spread out around the airlock, looking for a way forward as it was sealed with no visible control panel.

"Nihlus, you might want to see this," Shepard called after she had entered the control room to the side. Nihlus and Ashley followed her. Shepard pointed towards the hallway that was visible through a glass. "Those turrets are facing inwards. Whatever is going on, it's coming from the inside."

"Those turrets are not of geth design," Nihlus said, looking over them. "Those look like from Haliat Armory, so local security. Something went wrong even before the geth arrived."

"Which means the turrets were turned around to face that…" Shepard finished as she frowned and looked at a control panel. "Huh, the turret controls are right here," she muttered as she checked the turret status, still active.

"This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Ashley commented, looking through the glass. "Still, doesn't look like anything broke through here."

"We better move. Give me a moment to shut these down," Nihlus said, leaning over the control panel.

After disabling the turrets and opening the locks, Ashley and Shepard led the team through the hallway. Something hit Ashley in the leg and she looked down. She had kicked something that looked like a part of a turret, a barrel, but nothing like she had seen before. Even worse, organic matter was still clinging to it.

"Anyone recognize this?" she asked, gesturing towards the piece. Everyone shook their heads or otherwise didn't answer.

"Most likely some new geth or Collector weapon we haven't seen. Keep your eyes open," Nihlus ordered as the team moved on. At the end of the corridor was an elevator. With some difficulties primarily involving a fully armored krogan, the team managed to fit in and after an uncomfortable trip up, piled out. The next door they opened revealed the snow covered insides of the facility.

"Definitely not a good sign..." Jenkins muttered.

"Someone, or something, blew those protective shields off. The storm has blown in," Ashley noted, pointing towards several bent shields. Thankfully, the full power of the storm was not getting in, but the wind and snow it blew was enough to force their hardsuits to adjust.

"It's been open for some time too. Look at how much snow we have; it's everywhere and there's no footprints either. So, nobody has walked through here recently, the snow has covered their tracks," Garrus said, taking a position next an overturned table, giving him a vantage on a large portion of the room.

"Hold on," Wrex said as he raised his shotgun, "Do you hear that?"

As everyone stopped, Ashley listened and heard it too. Something was moving nearby. Something chittering, something sharp stepping on metal.

"Up above!" Liara shouted, pointing towards the stairs further into the compound. Everyone whirled around as three large creatures with dark black carapaces moved forward, two tubes protruding from the side with a glowing 'eye' in the middle of the head. It moved forward on four legs, and between the legs and head were several massive, orange sacs. Two human husks were behind it.

"Spread out!" Nihlus ordered and everyone broke off; Ashley, Jenkins, and Shepard to the left, Kaidan, Tali, and Liara to the right, while Nihlus and Wrex moved to an overturned table closer as the strange creatures opened fire, large orange shells shooting out of the two tubes like cannon fire and exploded, leaving craters in the wall and blasting a hole into the table Garrus had used as cover.

The team opened fire, taking down both husks immediately in the hailstorm. The rest of their fire, especially the shredder munitions in Jenkins' assault rifle, tore into the new creatures' sacs and split them open. And smaller creatures of a more arachnid appearance sprang out from the sacs as they were opened.

"That ain't right!" Jenkins shouted as he hurled a grenade into the mix, the charge exploding and wiping out several of the smaller bugs.

Wrex rose from cover and fired his shotgun directly into the leading creature, hitting a green spot that had been hidden by the sacs, and the incendiary rounds ignited it and forced the creature to stagger backwards. "Hit the green spot!" Wrex shouted. A sniper round from Garrus and a biotic attack from Liara finished that creature off, both attacks hitting it and it began to melt down into a pile of goo.

"That's a soft spot!" Garrus confirmed as Nihlus and Tali both launched tech attacks at the creature on the left. The creature turned towards Tali and two thin blue lights came out from the cannons…

"Tali get down!" Shepard shouted as she vaulted over the table, but before she could close in the other one had turned to fire at the knight, knocking her back as she quickly threw up a biotic barrier to stop the worst of it and slammed into the wall behind them.

Tali was less fortunate as she was in the middle of moving to a better angle when the creature fired, a shell hitting Tali directly and knocking her off her feet. Ashley's HUD began to flash as it warned her about Tali's lifesigns, but Ashley shoved the thought to the side as she switched to her sniper rifle and leaned out of cover, aiming for the creature that had gone for Shepard and fired a round directly into the green spot.

The armor piercing round punched into the soft spot and the creature howled as it reared back, leaving it exposed as Liara and Jenkins hit it with a biotic attack and another grenade. With parts of the body blasted off, it collapsed to the side.

As she turned to aim for the last one, which found itself on the receiving end of a krogan charge, collapsing backwards as the krogan ripped one of the cannons off and smashed it in the eye repeatedly before kicking it away.

"Tali, are you okay?!" Shepard shouted as she hurried over to where Kaidan and Liara had moved. Ashley followed behind, watching for more as the others spread out.

"I'll be fine," Tali muttered, a hand on her head and a tear in her suit. "Suit's locked down the area and I should be able to patch it… what the heck was that?"

"No clue," Kaidan muttered as he adjusted his omni-tool and held it over Tali's wound, which was soon sealed with medi-gel. "That ought to keep you moving, but that's not the special dextro-amino stuff. You might want to take it easy."

"You should be able to get back to the Mako," Liara said as she was gripping her pistol tightly. "Maybe be ready to give us a quick pickup."

"Wouldn't work," Tali noted as she pushed herself back up. "Ah, okay, yeah. I'll take it easy, but I'm not sitting this one out. You need a computer expert."

"She's right," Nihlus said as he walked over. "Seems those were the only ones in the area."

"Could've been worse, right?" Liara said as they walked over to take a look at their handiwork; three new creatures and two had parts of them melted, the liquified mass pooling at the base of the corpses.

"Don't step in it," Jenkins warned, pointing to his boot. "It'll trigger your K-Barriers."

"Got it," Ashley said with a quick nod. "Yours okay?"

"They'll be fine once they recharge," he explained.

"Alright, who wants to play 'guess the creature'?" Garrus commented, prodding the dead creature that had not melted down. Wrex was checking the melting remains of the others, putting extra bullets through them with his shotgun.

"No idea," Shepard said, looking at the creature.

"Me neither, never seen anything like this," Ashley commented. She could now see that the piece they had seen earlier had belonged to one of the creatures; one of their cannons.

"Hey, Wrex," Shepard called, "you're the oldest of us, you have any idea what this might be?"

Wrex turned back to the intact corpse, flipping it around a few times to look at it from different angles. Eventually, he nodded to himself and stood up.

"Looks like a rachni. Every krogan knows what one looks like. Can't forget the highlights of the history lessons," the krogan explained darkly. "Problem is, the rachni are supposed to be extinct."

"Well, for a dead species these guys are way too lively," Garrus commented as he recalibrated his scope. "Then again, looks like geth got to them. Husks?"

"Well, they use our own dead against us and they were fighting with a pair of them," Ashley commented with a shrug. "I wouldn't be surprised if they dug up some ancient corpses to be repurposed."

"Unlikely," Liara cut in. "I'm no xenobiologist, but there should be no tissue left unless they were specially preserved. As far as I know the rachni did not preserve their dead bodies and there was little interest in preserving rachni corpses during the war."

"They didn't, at least as far as the krogan know," Wrex added.

"Then these must have been killed recently," Liara continued. "Their bodies, apart from the damage we did, are remarkably intact for corpses that supposedly predate humanity being taken from Earth."

"Part of humanity," Kaidan noted, "but yeah, only thing I can think of that has an intact body after a thousand years are old Egyptian mummies, and ah, those things weren't exactly left on the battlefield."

"So they found a way to clone them," Nihlus concluded. "Or something to bring them back and then decided to upgrade them."

"And they almost wiped out the galaxy way back when," Jenkins added as he shook his head. "So, we have two reclusive groups allying under a rogue Spectre, united in a common search for something we think might be a weapon, serving something unknown that supposedly killed the protheans, and now they're bringing back extinct species to serve as undead cannon fodder. Literally." The corporal sighed. "Am I the only one who feels they didn't get trained for this?"

"Nah, they didn't cover this in ICT," Ashley retorted with a faint smirk.

"Turians might be prepared for just about anything, but this is off the playbook even for Palaven," Garrus added. "Or Dekunna, for that matter."

"If it's any consolation," Nihlus offered, "my job isn't usually this fantastic. Normally I just worry about intergalactic terrorist organizations."

"Oh, goody," Jenkins muttered, "so this is just a special case."

"Yup," Nihlus said, gesturing for the team to move out. This time, Ashley was sure that Nihlus was grinning and she noticed the others were smirking or their species' equivalent. _Nothing like little bit humor to get everyone back on track._

A few airlocks later, the team arrived in a large room with computer screen on the walls. At the other end of the room, was a large pilar. Tali seemed to recognize it.

"I think that's the main server hub, but it appears to be offline. Give me a second I see if I can restart it," the young quarian said.

"Very well, everyone else, secure the room," Nihlus ordered. They quickly moved through the limited space and found nothing. With an all clear, Tali set to work, first doing something on the side of the server, before jumping _into_ to the pillar.

"Uh," Jenkins said as he leaned over. "Did she just jump inside?"

"Yup," Kaidan answered as he tilted his head. "First computer I've seen that you could jump into."

A few minutes later, a platform rose from the center of the server hub with Tali on it. A VI appeared in front of the team, resembling a human woman save for the very obvious circuitry lines along her whole holographic body.

"It looks like you are trying to restore this facility. Would you like some help?" the VI asked.

"Oh God not one of these..." Tali groaned as she buried her visor in her hands. "What is the status of the facility?"

"This facility is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please log in for detailed information," the VI responded.

"Spectre Nihlus Kryik, override code 2551-2331-227, authorization Durkhan," Nihlus stepped forward. The VI froze for the second.

"Spectre override confirmed. All access granted. Be warned, this system has logged your override and will send a copy of all request to the owners of this facility," the VI said after a few moments.

"Won't matter much now. Status of the facility?" Nihlus ordered the VI.

"Spectres have override codes on VIs? Nobody told me that!" Tali complained as she stared at Nihlus.

"State secret; and if any of you even peep about the possibility, you're dead," Nihlus said without even a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Tali took a step back from the Spectre.

"Landlines from this facility to the hot labs have been decoupled as per emergency protocols. The reactor has been shut down as per emergency protocols. Warning! Numerous system failures detected on level 4. Warning! Tramway system to hot labs in nonfunctional. Warning! Waste disposal has been damaged. Warn-"

"Critical information only," Nihlus cut the VI off. The VI froze again for a second.

"Landlines from this facility to the hot labs have been decoupled as per emergency protocols. The reactor has been shut down as per emergency protocols. Warning! Tramway system to hot labs is nonfunctional," then the VI continued to parrot its earlier responses.

"Right, are you aware location of Matriarch Benezia?"

"One moment please... One match for query: Matriarch Benezia, located. Matriarch Benezia is currently located in the hot labs. Warning! Tramw-"

"Thank you," Nihlus said, cutting the VI off and leaving it to stare at them in silence.

"It's not hard to see where they skipped on expenses..." Tali muttered. "Everyone hates these models. They are... 'helpful' to the point of being useless."

"Why is the facility in shutdown?" Nihlus asked the VI. "And preferably the short version."

"I am sorry, but I only have information from before I was taken offline. Last logs indicate catastrophic subject containment. Attempts to contain subjects failed. Facility activated the lockdown protocols. The lockdown fails on levels 3 and 2. Additional protocols engaged. At this point, logs end due to system being taken offline," the VI reported.

"So we do know roughly what happened," Shepard said. "I bet those things we saw earlier were the subjects."

"I am sorry, but I do not have information regarding research subjects available at this time," the VI responded instantly.

"Of course you don't," Nihlus crossed his arms. "No sane corrupt CEO would keep any info on anything that could be accessed by inspectors," Nihlus fell silent, taking a moment to think. "How can we gain access to the hot labs?"

"The landlines have been decoupled. Manual reconnection is required on level 0, sector A. Reactor is offline. Please restart the facility power reactor to power up all required systems. Manual override will be required," the VI explained. "Once connection to the hot labs has been reestablished and power restored to the facility, the tramline can brought online at the station."

"How difficult will the recoupling the landlines be?"

"Override switch is located in the maintenance access. Pulling it will restore connection to all non-damaged landlines," the VI responded.

"Right, alright, lets split up. One team goes and take care of the landlines, the other one takes care of the reactor. Tali, you're our resident engineer so you go with the reactor team," Nihlus paused for the moment, looking over the group. "Williams, Shepard, Alenko, T'Soni, you go with Tali. Rest of you, with me. We'll go and get those landlines fixed. We meet here before heading to the tramline."

"Understood," Ashley responded, nodding to Shepard. She noted that he had not specified anyone as in command of the team, but that did not bother her. They had enough of an understanding of each other's mindset at this point to know when to trade off.

"Good, let's move," Nihlus ordered and they took different hallways towards their objectives.

XXXX

As the team entered the room leading to the reactor itself, the VI chimed in again.

"_User alert: reactor has been shut down as per emergency protocols. Manual reactivation required."_

"God I hate these VIs," Tali muttered, walking up to the control panel in front of them and beginning to work on it. Ashley, Shepard and Kaidan took positions to cover possible entrances into the room while Liara glanced around uncertainly.

The room had three exits, two to the reactor area and one back to the way they had come from. There was also an wall-sized window showing the reactor room. The reactor room itself had multiple catwalks going around it, leading to the upper level. Ashley tried to see if geth had left any surprises for them, but the reactor room seemed to be empty and Kaidan's omni-tool also came up negative.

"_User alert: reactor has been shut down as per emergency protocols. Manual reactivation required,"_ the VI's voice repeated.

"I know!" Tali shouted at the VI, "No need to remind me while I'm _working on it_. When I left Akko I had hoped it was the last time I had to deal with these VIs..." the quarian trailed off as she worked.

"Any luck yet?" Ashley asked as she glanced back. Tali shook her head.

"No, the reactor is okay, but some genius has decided that the manual reactivation requires someone walking _up to the reactor controls."_ She pointed at the console in the upper floor of the room, right next to the reactor. "And the only thing that I can do up there is to manually insert the order to_ wait for reactivation _from this console_._ Who did they contract to build this place?"

"Well, unless you can figure some way to do it from here, I think our course of action is clear at this point," Shepard said. Ashley nodded in response.

"You needed to set it up over there, or could I do it?" Kaidan asked.

"I need to stay here and be ready to get this thing done. Someone just needs to go there and enter the command into the console. Most likely it is already asking for confirmation, but call me if there is an issue," Tali said.

"Right, Kaidan, you come with me. We'll check the reactor," Ashley said, walking next to the door and taking an overwatch position while Kaidan moved to open it.

"I'll keep watch over Tali," Shepard said, standing next to her and looking through the glass. Kaidan looked up at Ashley, who nodded, before hitting the door button. The door hissed open and Ashley moved to the catwalk, Kaidan following behind her as both had their rifles drawn and aimed towards the various support beams and the fallen crates that were scattered on the walkway.

They reached the path leading upwards before a shot caused Ashley to lose her barriers. Kaidan quickly threw up a biotic bubble barrier to block the second shot and Ashley dove behind a crate to let her barriers recharge. Quickly looking around as Kaidan took cover next to her, Ashley saw a geth sticking to a wall, before it jumped away to a new location.

"AMBUSH!" she warned.

XXXX

"You hear that?" Jenkins asked. They slowed down and listened, soon picking up the distinct sound of mass accelerators being discharged.

"Someone's fighting. Survivors?" Garrus suggested as he switched to his assault rifle.

"Sounds like it's coming from the maintenance section," Nihlus said, nodding towards the end of the hallway they had been moving towards. "Form up on the door, if they're not working for Saren we need to help them," the Spectre ordered. Wrex and Jenkins took point at the door, with Nihlus and Garrus staying little bit further away, aiming at the door with their rifles. "On my mark... go!"

Jenkins hit the door lock and the door opened with a hiss. They had expected to meet some survivors or perhaps just corpses, but what they did not expect was to see an asari husk ripping a Geth Prime's arm off. Several other destroyed geth troopers - including a Destroyer - were littering the the area. A few other husks, including one that looked like it was made from a volus, were bunched around the asari as the Prime collapsed to a knee and had its head ripped off with a biotic punch. The husks turned to look at the team, both sides staring at each other and weighing their chances.

Husks, even with their limited cognitive capacity, were still capable of considering whether or not they could kill the interlopers without support before the living could fall back into a better defensive location. Meanwhile, the Spectre led team was considering if they had a chance against the asari husk in the cramped hallway with only half of their full ground team. Wrex was first to reach a conclusion and act on it.

"Nope!" the krogan grumbled, hitting the button to close the door.

"Back to server room, now!" Nihlus ordered as a piercing shout heralded that husks had arrived at their conclusion. Loud banging could be heard from the door as the husks tried to rip it open. "We link up with others and take that damn thing down!"

Not needing to be told twice, the team began to run back where they had come from, all the while while the banging at the door increased. Nihlus was sure that it had bulged when he glanced back.

"Was that a volus I saw there?" Jenkins asked as they rounded a corner and they could hear the door crashing down.

"Don't know, don't care," Garrus shouted, "I am more concerned about an asari coming down on us!" Garrus grabbed a grenade from his and threw it down the hallway. The grenade stuck to the wall and began to count down. As they rushed down the hallway, the grenade detonated and several husks' moans were cut off.

A second explosion followed, one that rippled through and Nihlus felt the force as it blew through the tight quarters and he could recognize the sound of falling debris. The four slowed down and looked behind them - the roof was falling in, shattered glass and the snow began to blow in, separating them from the asari husk amongst the husks.

"What was that?" Jenkins asked. "You haven't been holding out, right?"

"That wasn't my grenade…"

The asari husk began to blast away the debris with biotics, one piece punching into the wall near them. "It bought us some time; keep moving!" Nihlus ordered.

"Hopefully the commander's doing better…" Jenkins muttered.

XXXXXXX

Etel grabbed a geth trooper's hand and knocked it back, keeping its omni-blade pointed into the air before drawing her sidearm and shooting it in the chest. The synthetic spasmed before collapsing in a puddle of white conductive fluids and Etel turned her sidearm towards a hopper that Tali had managed to hit with an overload.

"Kaidan, jumper behind you!"

Alenko reacted to Williams' warning as they had moved back towards the control center as one of the hoppers landed behind the Alliance biotic. Alenko whirled around and stabbed it in the face with an omni-blade before kicking it away and shooting it with his pistol.

"What do we do now?" Liara asked as she lifted a crate with biotics and hurled it at a Destroyer moving in from the catwalk above and knocked it over the railing. The metal rail deformed as it tripped over and fell into the reactor below.

"Clear out the geth, then we fix the reactor!" Etel responded as she holstered her pistol and picked her shotgun back up when the door to the main building opened. She aimed, ready to fire several incendiary rounds into whatever geth, krogan, Collector, or husk was coming but she lowered it the moment she saw who had ran in.

"Move!" Nihlus warned, "Move into a more open area, now!"

"Tali, Kaidan, let's push up the catwalk!" Williams called.

"Got it!"

"What's going on?" Laira asked.

"Husks, including another screamer," Wrex explained as he turned and aimed his assault rifle towards the door that had closed behind them.

Etel felt her gut tighten as she remembered it. "Williams, make that push fast we've got another asari husk coming!"

And on cue, the door broke down and the asari husk charged in, followed by several of its lesser kin. The husks immediately came under fire, not just from the ground team, but geth were firing into the husks as well, a rocket from a catwalk above hitting the asari husk and staggering it.

"Move back and keep up the fire!" Etel called as Garrus was finally able to get his sniper rifle out and fire another armor piercing round at the asari husk while Liara and Wrex both warped the biotic barrier. The round went through the side of the creature's head, but it kept coming, as were the husks behind it.

Gritting her teeth as they abandoned the lower control room and began to move up, Etel took a step back and released a biotic shockwave, knocking several of the husks running forward off of the catwalk as they stepped onto it.

Something hit her back and she staggered forward, turning around to see a geth on a higher catwalk had hit her with shotgun blast before being overloaded by Tali. _Brilliant,_ she thought irritably as they kept moving up as they turned around a U-turn of a corner. Ashley, Tali, and Kaidan were making quick process pushing up, and the husks were spreading out, some starting to crawl all over the reactor like spiders…

"Ash, behind you!" Etel shouted as she saw a husk pop up from the other side of the reactor. Williams heard the warning and whirled around, dropping her assault rifle to slug the husk in the face before activating an omni-blade and impaling it.

"What was that?" Jenkins asked before Wrex cut him off with a shotgun blast to a husk that had gotten far too close for comfort. The asari husk had walked into the main control room now and was glowing again.

"She's charging!" Liara warned as she grabbed another crate and hurled it at the charging biotic husk. The crate collapsed on itself, but it did slow the Banshee down and let them run further back.

"Watch out, rachni!" the krogan warned as two more of the new cannon husks came out and opened fire, hitting a pair of geth troopers above who had rocket launchers and knocking them into the reactor. A geth hopper retaliated, jumping onto the wall above and firing a disc into one of the cannons, causing it to glow orange and explode.

"I'm losing track of all these targets!" Garrus muttered as he threw another grenade and Nihlus jumped above with his rocket boots, grabbing a support beam and firing his pistol at some of the husks trying to get behind Williams and Alenko, who were almost to the top and were now starting to add their firepower against the asari husk.

"We need to get rid of the husk!" Liara shouted as the asari husk launched a biotic attack and Liara went flying into the control room behind them and Etel was forced onto a knee by the force of the impact.

Etel glanced down as she was on her knee and noticed the reactor fuel below. _Never imagined I'd actually be doing this,_ she thought as she rose back to her feet and kept firing. "Tali, get the reactor prep done!"

"What?! Etel, now isn't the time!" the quarian shot back as the rachni husks were maneuvering into a firing position on the team, but were leaking the their corrosive blood and their sacs had already burst from geth fire. A grenade from Jenkins destroyed one while Garrus hit the other one with an armor piercing round in the soft spot.

"Just do it!" she shouted as fired another blast from her shotgun. The asari husk charged forward again, and Wrex charged in return, the two crashing into each other. Etel dropped back and shot a husk trying to crawl behind Wrex from beneath a catwalk.

"Okay, it's fired up!" Tali shouted.

"Stand back, I've got this!" Williams ordered. Etel glanced back and noticed the N6 had pulled out her breaching charge and was planting it on the floor as Nihlus was firing down on a pair of turian husks that had taken up positions at the doorway into the reactor.

"Kaidan, Liara, get ready to push with biotics!" Etel ordered as Wrex heatbutt the asari husk and it staggered back. The krogan brought his shotgun up and fired, hitting the husk's chest and starting to burn away the outer muscle. The husk shrieked again and stepped forward to throw an arm forward as Ashley set off the breaching charge.

The husk's arm went directly into Wrex's chest, punching into his armor. The old krogan grunted, audibly choking as a hole was forced into his stomach.

"_Wrex!" _Garrus and Jenkins both shouted, but neither were at an angle to help him. The old krogan coughed, blood staining the husk's hand as he looked up at the asari husk as it seemed to smile.

Then Wrex's head glowed blue and he leaned forward before bringing his head up, bashing the husk and breaking several of its teeth as it howled. The krogan followed through with a meaty punch from his left hand, and with his right ripped the husk's arm out from inside and shoved it backwards. The asari husk staggered down the catwalk, next to the deformed rail that had bent under a Destroyer. Beneath it, a green glow.

"_Reactor's online!"_ Tali called.

"Liara, Alenko, _NOW!_" Etel shouted as she concentrated as much of her biotic power as she could in the air in front of the asari husk, building up the mass and compressing it before she released it. The other two did the same and the resulting force as the mass was released knocked the husk through the deformed rail. The husk screamed as it fell but the scream was cut off by an explosion.

Smoke rose from the bottom of the reactor, and Wrex collapsed. "Alenko!" he called.

"Hold on!" the medic shouted as he hurried over, omni-tool already active and medi-gel capsules ready. Alenko nodded grimly. "This is going to take a few minutes."

"Understood," Etel said with a nod as the gunfire ceased and she heard Nihlus calling that it was clear. She noticed that there was a rappel line in the hole that Williams had made with her breaching charge. After the team had managed to catch their breath and regroup, they look around to see various geth and husk corpses.

"So, the geth and husks are now enemies?" Jenkins asked, prodding one of the destroyed synthetics.

"That doesn't make sense," Etel answered as she shook her head. "The geth create the husks and control them. Why would the husks turn against them?"

"Unless the geth didn't create the original technology, merely started using it?" Williams offered as she was looking at the rappel line, as if weighing on whether to recover it or not. "I mean, what do we actually know about the Collectors? No known records about the geth mentions anything like husks, but suddenly the geth and Collectors team up and husks appear?"

"Hmm..." Nihlus muttered, scratching his chin. "A conflict between the geth and Collectors? Not that it makes much sense; all reports so far have confirmed their alliance, never mind the fact that Saren seems to be pulling strings on both."

"So, what's going on, berserk husks?" Etel suggested as she considered what happened with security mechs sometimes. "But where did they even come from? I doubt this facility would have enough people to have this many husks, never mind there's no reason why the husks would turn against the geth after conversion if they didn't do it on Eden Prime or New Syracusae."

"I agree," Williams nodded in response. "Even newly created husks are loyal to the geth and Collectors. And the whole reason we're here was because husks were shipped _from_ here."

"So, the husks were made somewhere here," Garrus concluded with a nod. "Next question is why was nobody aware of it before Rayingri? Even if the people here would willingly work on husks, I doubt secrecy could have been maintained that well. Someone would have had second thoughts about techno-undead or whatever these are."

"Whatever it is, we can use this," Wrex said, cleaning off blood from his armor as Alenko helped him down the catwalk, keeping an eye on his vitals with an omni-tool. "Let the two of them fight and take out whatever is left. Less danger for us."

"Uh, Wrex?" Tali asked the krogan. "You sure you should be walking around with a hole in you?"

"Redundant organs. You should try them sometimes," the battlemaster chuckled. "Just lost a liver, I think."

"_How many_ redundant organs do you _have?_" Jenkins asked incredulously.

"Let's save this for the _Normandy_," Etel said as Garrus was about to speak up. "Wrex, you able to fight?"

"Yes, but I'm going to leave the front to you and Nihlus. Regen and medi-gel can only do so much and I'm going to need to talk to Chakwas afterwards," Nihlus nodded in response to Wrex's comment.

"So, what should we do now?" Liara asked as she was checking her armor, scratched and stained with mechanical fluid and some blood. "Tali and Wrex are both wounded and it seems everything in this facility wants us dead."

"We continue," Nihlus said without a pause, "but we don't separate this time. Make sure the reactor is fully operable, then we'll go deal with the landlines and finally, we get to the tramline."

Making sure the reactor would not fail, the team set out finish rest of the repairs. This proved to be a lot less challenging than the initial attempt. With no more enemies interfering with them besides the odd straggler husk or a half-destroyed geth gun drone, reconnecting the landlines was a simple matter of accessing the control consoles and occasionally using some brute force. After they finished, Nihlus ordered them to return to the computer core to check that everything was working.

"Right, that should be all," Nihlus said to the VI. "Are we clear to enter the hot labs now?"

"Accessing new information. User alert, loose contaminants detected in the tram station," the VI responded. Nihlus groaned, a feeling Etel shared as she was tired of the program.

"Okay, what is it and how do we deal with it?" Nihlus asked.

"Dangerous foreign biological agents have been detected in the decontamination chamber in the tramway station," the VI explained. "Tramway station has been sealed as per security protocols. User alert: automatic plasma jets not responding. Recommending manual activation from the tramway security station."

"Plasma jets?" Liara responded instantly. "You do no decontaminate _anything_ with a plasma jet! You _kill_ with those things, burn everything without a trace!" She paused as everyone was looking at her. "We used them to burn all our waste at dig sites," she added sheepishly. "Minimize foreign contamination of biospheres, the smell, that sort of thing."

"If they need that kind of 'decontamination', their study subjects are a bit bigger than what we thought," Williams remarked.

"Only one way to find out," Etel said as they moved on.

As Tali hacked opened the security room, she could see the security passage ahead through a pane of security glass. Several husks were worthlessly punching the door out and one was trying to break the widow with similar luck. The husks trying to escape included a volus, a few humans, a turian without a rifle, and a quarian missing an arm. In the security room, there was a lone corpse; a turian in ERCS gear, several bullet holes in his chest.

"Looks like one of those turian husks or the geth were in here," Garrus said grimly, kneeling down to a turian corpse lying on the floor, before yanking his dog tag off. Nihlus nodded in approval, before turning to a computer console that had been broken, to a degree.

"Tali, you're up again," the Spectre moved next to the console and started to tinker with it. After a few minutes and as the husks were beginning to look at them, she looked up.

"Okay, I managed to reconnect the parts needed to activate the decon and a log file," Tali said, standing up. "Looks like someone wrote it while bored and then forgot to delete it. It's a simple text file; no name given."

"Play it for us," Nihlus said. Tali nodded, and a moment later a synthetic voice came from her omni-tool.

"_Another batch of 'specimens' for the eggheads in the labs. Ever since the orders came from that Spectre, the place has been in blackout. Haven't been able to hear anything from the outside world. Dunno what they do with these things they're bringing out, they look disgusting. Like some sort of techno-zombies, all suspended in their containers."_

"_Where did they even get them? Or what do they even do with them? If it was just experimenting they'd probably keep it in the hot labs rather than ship them out. Either way, we have strict orders that hot labs are not to be contacted beyond scheduled events or emergencies."_

"And that's it," Tali said, turning her omni-tool off.

"So, the husks are actually local and were not brought by the geth," Nihlus said. "Interesting."

"That only raises more questions; the least of which being what they were doing with them here?" Etel pointed out. Williams nodded.

"And how they managed to smuggle them through the port," the marine added. "They had to have more than just Anoleis looking in a different direction. Most of them probably didn't care beyond checking the cargo in customs, but you would think someone would be concerned about shipping large quantities of jacked up bodies."

"Whatever it is they were doing, we're going to find out soon enough," Nihlus said as he looked towards the husks blocking their way. "Tali, roast them."

"With pleasure," the young quarian said and reactivated her omni-tool. The plasma jets fired, filling the decon chamber with a bright, nearly white flame that forced their helmet visors to polarize. The husks began to run around as they were set on fire and were collapsing into ashes. The volus lasted the longest, the plating of his pressure suit melting before it finally gave way entirely.

And then an explosion consumed the chamber. The security glass held for a moment, long enough for Tali to drop to the ground, but shattered as the shockwave finished and the shrapnel crashed into Etel's armor, scratching the heraldry she had painted onto it.

As the dust settled, everyone stood back up; no one's armor had been completely penetrated, though Jenkins had a piece of glass lodged in his shoulder guard.

"Did anyone catch the truck's number?" Kaidan asked, pushing himself up from the floor. "What the hell was that?"

"That... was not supposed to happen," Tali groaned, checking her suit despite Etel's HUD, and most likely Tali's HUD, reporting the suit was intact.

"So we have two unexplained explosions so far," Jenkins said while Wrex helped him up. "I know this might sound stupid, but last time we had unexpected explosion there was a volus there and there was one here too."

"Volus as suicide bombers?" Williams asked, dusting off. "Seems little bit pointless, but as far as theories go, works for me."

"The sample size is too small to make any conclusions," Liara injected, "but so far that would make sense. Still, I can't think how they could turn a volus into a husk, seeing how those poor people blow up regardless if their suit is ruptured."

"Back them with explosives?" Wrex suggested. "I mean, I've _seen_ it happen before. The explosion isn't nearly that powerful."

"We'll find out on the other side," Nihlus said as he gestured them forward. "Either way, keep volus husks at arm's length until we're sure."

The tramway station itself was empty. The team boarded the only working train and activated it. The VI informed them that the train would be leaving the central station and head towards the Rift Station and associated hot labs. And once the engines were warm enough after the cold start, it set off deeper into Noveria.

XXXXXXX

"Honored matriarch", Ventralis said. Benezia turned to him, both of her geth bodyguards mimicking her and looking at him with those damn flashlights. He hated the synthetics, but at least they weren't husks and even if they were unorthodox reinforcements, they were still better than nothing. "We located the object you were looking for."

"Good," came the cold reply. "Your failure with the husks has already been catastrophic. Losing that would have been even worse for you. The knowledge contained within is greater than what you managed to glimpse from these walking corpses. Now, bring it to me."

"I'm... afraid there is a problem," Ventralis responded, swallowing. "It's in Sector 7. There are hundreds of husks between us and it. And well, my men are in no shape to fight them all _and_ keep our sector secure. Can't we just come back later, with better troops? It's not like the husks are going to do anything with it."

"No," the answer was short and made clear that no argument was to be made against it. "It is critical that the information contained in it is unlocked as soon as possible. If your men are not up to the task, then I must do it personally," she said, gesturing for her geth to prepare to move into the area. The machines started to run diagnostics.

"What about us? There are still too many wounded to move," Ventralis tried to argue. If the lady wanted to commit suicide, he had no problems with that. However, losing the geth reinforcements was going to be a problem, he didn't have enough men to form a full perimeter across all the possible entry points. Or at least one he could be sure would remain intact.

"You will have new orders. You are to stop anyone from reaching me while I go retrieve the artifact. It is vital to the... war efforts," Benezia said before leaving the room.

It had been quite a shock to Ventralis. After whatever had caused the husks to break loose, they had been holed up here waiting for someone to come and help them. Then this asari matriarch came, saying she was working for the Spectre.

According her, there was some sort of war going on in the wider galaxy and their research here had been critical in maintaining the war effort. How their studies had been critical, they had no idea. Nor did he even know who they were fighting, just that geth were, apparently, allied with the Citadel. _Why else would she have geth bodyguards_, Ventralis had concluded. Yet, all she cared was about getting some dingy prothean artifact that had been left behind in the chaotic retreat.

"So, boss, what should we do?" one of the mercs under his command asked.

"We man our defensive stations and hope they come back soon and we get to leave this hellhole," Ventralis said, picking up his rifle. "And if you want to pray to your God, you could also do that. Not sure if it'll help, but at this point I'll take anything."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

_\- Noveria is not just rachni as it was in canon, though its broad role will remain the same. More husks and focus on those as the various subtypes have been added and Ravagers. The item that Benezia is looking for is also to finally answer something that we had as an early complaint: sticking to ME1. We want to get into the deviations from the canon, and this is where we get a tool to do such._

_\- As you may have noticed, we've introduced new husks, such as the volus one. We are not limiting ourselves to the canon husks as a way of fleshing out the bad guys so it's not the same thing over and over again in different amounts. In the case of the volus husk, we drew a lot of inspiration from AndrewRyanArt over at DeviantART and his piece "Reaper Volus"._

_\- Thank you Johzern, RheasHelm, scottusa1, OBSERVER1, jgkitarel, and Babultower for your reviews and feedback, always appreciated._

_\- Speaking of that, the Codex Entry we did is the Peak 15 scientist's view on all of this..._

XXXXXXXX

**Binary Helix Databanks - Peak 15 - Project Report**

"_As requested by the Spectre, I have detailed here our current report regarding the enemy combatants classified as "husks". For an overview of various husks variants, please see attached file (BH-HO-01). This report is on the general nature of this project. As always, this file is not to leave Peak 15 under any circumstances. This project is blacker than black and there are standing orders to wipe the facility if our existence is revealed."_

\- Forward by Hans Olar

As requested, we have studied these husks, their possible creation methods, and what possible improvements might be encountered in the future. Progress has been moving forward at a steady pace, although some staff members have raised ethical concerns regarding the use of some of the more lively subjects. However, I have assured them that these people are already gone and while what we do is somewhat disgusting, we can save more people from this fate with our work. This has alleviated concerns somewhat, although people are still hesitant to use more advanced techniques.

The creation of husks is relatively simple, baring more delicate subjects such as volus. Nanites from the "Dragon's Teeth" which impale the subjects rewrite the body and build cybernetic replacements for the organic matter than needs to be modified. The control system, by contrast, is complicated and we are unable to figure how exactly it works. We know that there is a signal being broadcast to direct the husks, but we have had no success in decoding or decrypting this signal. It does not appear to work like normal radio signals, seemingly being combination of both digital and analog information.

While we have learned much, the new creatures being brought to us causes concern to constantly resurface. Some of the scientists have questioned where these creatures are coming from and I told them that I do not know. If possible, please inform us where these creatures were encountered first. Their possible homeworld could serve as avenue of possible upgrades the enemy might introduce, and perhaps allay the fears of the researchers.

We will continue our work, but our inability to communicate with outside world limits our progress. Without access to wider scientific community and their findings, we are forced to rely on our own assumptions and discoveries.


	20. Priority: Noveria - Hotlabs

"_Now arriving: Rift Station, Binary Helix research facility. Please watch your step when leaving the train and ensure your visitor passes are visible,"_ the VI announced the tramline slowed down to a halt.

The team moved out, keeping their eyes open for any possible husks that might be around. The station was empty and none of their omni-tools were picking up any movement. Two doors led out of the station, one signaling access to various lab sectors and other to a visitors' lounge. The door to the labs was sealed - someone had taken a blowtorch on control panel to ensure it would remain sealed.

So, they made their way through the unblocked door and soon found themselves facing a group of armed and armored men and women aimed an assortment of guns at the ground team.

"Look alive!"

"Who's there?"

"Shit, not more!"

"Stand down, they're not husks!" a voice rang out before anyone could fire, one of the armed men stepping forward and taking his helmet off, revealing a middle-aged bald man.

"Captain Ventralis, I'm in charge of this group," he said to introduce himself. "Sorry about the rude welcome, but we couldn't be sure what was on the tram."

"I understand, better to play it safe," Nihlus nodded in response as the mercenaries were relaxing.

"So, seeing as how you people are here, I assume we've finally gotten reinforcements?" Ventralis asked. "That asari matriarch did say that they were aware of our situation."

The mercenaries perked up at the mention of reinforcements.

"No, I'm afraid this is it," Nihlus shook his head. "We didn't know what to expect until we got here. Nihlus Kryik, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. What's the situation here?"

"You don't know?" Ventralis seemed to be taken back. "I mean, we already had one Spectre breathing down our backs and he sent that matriarch with her troops to help us out."

"I'm afraid nobody is aware of what is going on in the facility," Nihlus repeated. "Though I see you have a husk infestation."

"Yeah, damn things broke the containment. Dunno what happened, they used to be pretty docile, then everything went to hell," Ventralis said, looking around. "Now they are _everywhere_. One of the eggheads might know better what happened, I'm just trying to..." he fell silent, dropping his helmet and grabbing his rifle. The ground team followed suit, looking around as they all heard the banging. Something was in the vents.

"_Over there_!" one of the guards shouted as a ventilation shaft in the ground popped over and husks began to clamber out of it.

The fire of over a dozen people, backed with a biotic shockwave from Liara, turned the vent from an ambush route into a kill zone and choke point, the husks being shot full of holes before they were able to do more than get to their feet and take one or two steps. The collapsing bodies fell back down the shaft until the husks stopped as the entry routes became clogged with bodies.

"Damn it, that's fifth attack in the last three hours, something must have riled them up" Ventralis cursed as Jenkins threw a grenade down the shaft for good measure. "Seal that hole and recheck all exits points inside the perimeter. If they found their way into those ducts, they could be anywhere!" Ventralis shouted to his troops.

"Yes sir!" answered one of the guards before he and a grey armored turian went through the door further in.

"It's worse than that," Wrex rumbled. "They've escaped all the way to the tramway station, we had to fight our way through Most likely only thing keeping them here was the storm."

"_Damn it!_" Ventralis cursed. "Good thing you dealt with those; if the tram was cut off we could have been stuck here." He inhaled sharply, glancing around briefly before nodding to himself. "We need to deal with the main horde, and before they can make their way over to the tram station again and bust it up. Thing is, my men are too tired to do it. We've been holed up here for the last three days and these things don't need sleep."

"Where is the main horde then and how many of them?" Nihlus asked, giving way to two engineers from further inside who began to weld a new grate onto the ventilation shaft.

"Couple thousand, last I checked," Ventralis said, causing the team to pause. "Most of them just your basic mindless zombies, but there are those special ones. More than enough to cause trouble. Talk to Hans Olar and Yaroslev about the hot labs - a volus and a human, respectively. They should know how to purge them without having to kill them all yourself."

"Good, nine against a thousand is bad enough," Garrus muttered. "Really, at this point getting out of here and telling them to drop the nukes is sounding like a good idea."

"Actually, why haven't you evacuated yet?" Shepard asked. "It seems that you have managed to hold out so far, why not fight your way out? I mean, clearly there is a way out since Benezia was able to get in."

"You would think so, but no." the mercenary captain shook his head. "This part of the facility does not have its own vehicle pool or landing pad. So we're reliant on the tramway, which was shut down until you people restarted it. Benezia did come here with a shuttle and did a landing on the roof, but well..."

"Let me guess, the storm picked up?" Wrex commented.

"Yes. It was a miracle they managed to land at all," Ventralis nodded. "Until the storm calms down, we aren't getting out that way. If we could leave, we would have made a run for it by now and called in nukes, like you suggested. It's the only way to be sure that this outbreak is over."

"In normal circumstances I'd agree," Nihlus said as he weighed the options. "But we need to find out what's here. We'll see what this Hans Olar has to say. Williams, Vakarian, T'Soni, Jenkins, you're with me. We'll talk to him. Shepard, Alenko, go make sure Tali and Wrex get medical treatment then meet up with us."

XXXXXXXX

"Are you the doctor?" Etel asked as they entered the medical suite, located down a ramp from the main visitor's lounge. The man, who had been tending an asari on the bed, turned towards them.

"Yes, Doctor Cohen at your service. Heard about us having visitors," responded the older man who was bald save for white hair around the back of his head, standing up before turning back to asari. "Take it easy for for now, it's not fractured, but there was some internal bleeding. Should be sealed up, but it will bruise."

"Thanks doc," the asari said, settling down into the gurney she was on.

"Now, how can I help you?" Doctor Cohen asked the team.

"We have two wounded, a quarian and krogan. Can you help them?" Etel asked, gesturing to Wrex and Tali behind her.

"What's the medical issue?" Cohen asked, cleaning his hand and gesturing two to lay down on free beds.

"I got suit puncture and I think I had some of that acid inside. I'm swimming in antibiotics, but I do get dizzy at some points," Tali responded, sitting on a bed.

"I see. A basic detox should do it for you. Luckily for you, I've got plenty of quarian detox sets left," doctor nodded, opening a medical closet and beginning to pick through the stash.

"I should be okay, I think your people might need it more. I think I'll just need some rest," Tali waved her hand, but Cohen shook his head.

"Nah, we'll fix you up. It's not like this is strain on our resources, I think you are the only quarian left on the facility. Not counting the husks," the doctor explained, setting the detox kit next to Tali. "Mil'Deevan was last one until yesterday and then one of those things got past the perimeter..." the doctor trailed off.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tali said, shifting around and revealing her discomfort at the news.

"Well, that's life for you. Sometimes it just shits on you. I'll get on you as soon as I check on the krogan, miss...?"

"Tali. Tali'Zorah."

"Nice to meet you Tali. So, what's... oh," Cohen said, turning to Wrex. "Well, if I were to guess your problem is the hole in your stomach."

"I see your med school was well spent," Wrex snorted. "I'll live, redundant organs are wonderful, but I'll need you to get what's left of the wrecked stuff out and then seal it back up. No point leaving anything to rot."

"Well, yes, of course," the doctor responded, clearly being taken back. "We were not really trained to operate on krogan, so I will have to trust you on this matter. Judging from the scars and the hump, I would hazard you for... 500, 600 years?"

"Good guess, 698 this year," Wrex nodded at the doctor.

"Then I trust you to know how your physiology works. Excuse my bluntness, but you don't live that long as a krogan, especially one wandering around the stars, if you don't know how to deal with the wounds."

"For once a doctor who doesn't try to treat me like some infant asari," Wrex nodded.

"Just let me grab my surgery gear and set up the operating space. We don't have a dedicated room, unfortunately, but we do with what we have, " he said, starting to gather what he needed from various cabinets and boxes around the room. "I'll set up one of the blinds since this is going to be disgusting."

"What surgery isn't?" Alenko muttered. "Also, you have any spare medi-gel? Closing Wrex's wounds used up most of my stock."

"Yes; we kept an extra sized reserve of it just in case of something like this." Cohen gestured towards a large cabinet next to where they had come in. "If you're here to help, you'll need it. So go ahead and restock."

"Thanks," the medic said as he opened the cabinet.

"Alright," Etel said as she saw that two wounded were in good hands. "You guys take it easy and get yourself fixed up. We'll go and deal with husks."

"Don't kill all of them," Wrex said, "I don't want to miss all the fun."

"Sometimes I can't tell if he's serious or not…" Tali muttered.

XXXXXXX

"Hans Olar?" Nihlus asked a volus that had been sitting on the side, off by his lonesome. He seemed to be in deep thought and slumped over, but he did react to Nihlus' question by turning his head towards them.

"Well, I can't say I expected to see another Spectre here," a volus said.

"Really, and why's that?" Nihlus asked as Ashley looked down at him.

"I thought that the matriarch had been sent with those geth reinforcements by the Spectre. I suspected everything else was being used in whatever war is going on. Hard to imagine a war seeing the Citadel and geth on the same side."

"Same side?" Jenkins asked incredulously. "You been living under a rock?"

"Apparently," the volus said, shaking his head. "But where are my manners. Hans Olar, at your service. For all it's worth after what I've done…"

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked, "Something with the husks?"

"Yes, though I'm not sure why you don't know. Didn't the Spectre tell you?"

"Let's just say we have… _professional differences_," Nihlus said and Ashley caught the cue: don't press the issue of who was on who's side.

"Well, I can at least share what I know. Did he at least brief you on the Banshees, Sappers, and so on?"

"Banshees?" Liara asked.

"The asari husks," the volus supplied. "Really quite fascinating; takes the latent Ardat-Yakshi genes that just about every asari has in some form and weaponizes them. Sickening, but the scientist in me can't help but be in awe at the cybernetics involved."

"Can't say that the soldier in me is happy to see them on the battlefield," Ashley muttered. Apparently Hans' hearing was better than she thought, as he nodded at the comment.

"Yes, and assuming the predicted rate of improvement holds up it will only get worse," Olar explained. "Current predicted line of improvements are improved biotic capabilities, assuming the system isn't too intense to what is left of the body. Given how often biotics are already used, you wouldn't think the static buildup could be that hazardous..."

"What about the... Sappers?" Nihlus asked, interrupting the tangent.

"Interesting appear to be the result of an accident, specifically one where the suits the quarians use are accidentally assimilated into the husk. The resulting tech power has been since incorporated into the more refined form, creating a support type husk," the volus waved his hand. "How come you were not briefed on the project? It is critical information, especially in the current situation."

"This operation was issued on a strict need-to-know basis," Nihlus told the volus and Ashley had to wonder the ease that Nihlus lied. "Normally your contact Spectre would have dealt with this, but he's been running around a lot so I picked up where he left off, plus as I mentioned we don't get along. I will need full details, I was told that this was critical."

"I see. I guess it is bad out there..." Hans trailed off, before shaking his head and collecting himself. "Well, we were tasked with research and predicting possible upgrade paths the enemy would take with these... husks. Complete blackout, no news in or out beyond what little contact we had with the Spectre," Hans explained, gesturing towards the few remaining scientists.

"We received specimens and were told to study how they could be improved, in order to predict the enemy's abilities. Other areas of study were their control and creation, in search of possible counters. In general, we were told we would be the 'opfor' lap, whatever that means," the volus spread his hands before shrugging.

"Opposing force," Ashley supplied.

"Thank you. Regardless, our findings would be then sent to some other lab who would devise counters. Occasionally we got counters to our latest improvements and we were to told to predict counters to the counters before the enemy could discover them, so that the other labs could prepare the counters appropriately. All very hush hush operations with lots of isolated groups."

"I see. So that is how our weapon department remained one step ahead," Nihlus nodded, as if having a realization.

"Now, we recently got a batch of these new things - the rachni husks - and then everything went to hell," Hans finished, gesturing around vaguely. "I don't think I need to elaborate on how it did."

"Yeah, we noticed the runaways," Ashley commented. "Had to fight our way through."

"Runaways... I guess you could call them that. Most of them are still down in the hot labs," the volus explained. "The majority are too stupid to actually get out, but if the smarter ones start to herd them all towards the top, we could have a full-blown outbreak here. We tried to initiate the radiation purge, but whole place was overrun and then emergency protocols kicked in, locking us out."

"Well, we need to deal with that so that is our next target," Nihlus nodded.

"Doctor Yaroslev knows how to initiate the purge," the volus pointed at one of the scientists reading on a tablet. "Now, can someone finally explain what is going on in the wider galaxy?"

"We are suffering attacks by the Collectors," Nihlus responded. "Their goals are... unknown, but they are deploying husks to fight us and are using previously relay unknown routes to bypass our defenses."

"And how do the geth fit into this thing?" Hans pushed.

"Classified," Nihlus stated. Ashley had to appreciate the ease which Nihlus used technically true statements to maintain the illusion that the scientist seemed to have. "You are surprisingly forthcoming with information. You're not worried that we're spies?"

The volus seemed to slump at the comment, shaking his head.

"Doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" he responded. "All of us have our sins. Might as well try to do something good while I have the chance..."

"What do you mean?" Liara asked, looking worried.

"I left her to die. She was begging me to keep the door open until she could reach it, but they were too close. I had to close it," the volus said, waving his hand again. "Don't want her death to be meaningless."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, but she understood it immediately. Sometimes, ruthless calculus came into play.

"Understandable sentiment," Nihlus said. "We will talk with Doctor Yaroslev and get this thing under control as soon as possible."

"You go ahead and do that," Hans said and collapsed back down on his seat.

The team moved over to the other scientist, who nodded to them as they approached and put down a data tablet.

"Doctor Yaroslev. I assume you're here to ask me about the purge?"

"Yes and few other questions," Nihlus said. "What does this purge do and how do we activate it?"

"Well, it's a neutron purge. Quite simple, really. It's been modified slightly due to the things we got here, but it should kill them. Or more specifically, cripple their hardware to point where they either shut down or become unable to do anything. Killing the flesh won't help, since they are already dead. You need to target the cybernetics."

"I see," Nihlus said.

"There's got to be more to this than that, otherwise you would have done it already," Ashley said. "So, what's the catch?"

"Well, the emergency protocols activated and severed all sectors from each other to preserve the lockdown," Yaroslev explained. "So... you need to go in and manually activate it. On site. With a specific code."

"And let me guess - this code is only available to very specific people, all of them dead?" Garrus commented.

"Why do I feel like I've heard that before…" Jenkins muttered and the turian sniper nodded in agreement.

"Luckily, I got out. I have the code and I can give it to you," Yaroslev responded. "The system is made to accept the code from anyone. We removed the original system that checked for user ID. After one close call, we concluded that the risk of an outsider activating it was less than all authorized personnel dying."

"Good, that makes this a lot easier," Ashley said. "So, what happened here? How the heck did the husks get this badly out of control?" 

"We are not really sure. They were pretty docile until recently. Most they just milled around, occasionally trying to get out, but the systems kept them in and it was always isolated cases," Yaroslev looked around. "Then we got these new things, some of them species we had never seen before. So, we tried to do some control with them. We had some success in replicating the control signals, though we just knew that sending certain type of signals would invoke a certain kind of behavior. Not a real control, but we could incite the husk to be more aggressive, active or docile. Not much, but it helped running the trials. Thing is, these things didn't respond to it. The rachni husks in particular."

"So, you could not herd them like the others. Were your systems not secure enough or something else?" Nihlus asked

"That's the weird part. At first, they were docile, just sending out some sort of signal. But as the time went, they become more and more agitated and aggressive, until they started to broadcast their signal even more. Eventually, it started to affect the other husks too."

"I can see where this is going. Didn't you up the security?" Garrus asked.

"We did. More guards, better locks, extra plasma jets at checkpoints, and so on. However, when the outbreak began, it didn't start from one place. It started everywhere. Everywhere husks began attacking. Our response teams were good..."

"But they could not be everywhere," Garrus finished the sentence. Yaroslev nodded.

"And each lab the husks over run, they released more. Then the special ones started to get out. Have you ever tried to fight a Banshee, those asari husks, in close quarters?"

"Actually, we have. It's... not easy," Ashley said, wincing at the memory. Yaroslev nodded sympathetically.

"Soon Ventralis gave up trying on trying to put them down and just decided to get us out of here. He's had us bunkered here ever since. Then that asari matriarch, Benezia, showed up with her geth and a few commandos. Thing is, they weren't here to deal with the husks, though they've been shooting them up too. They dove deeper into the main labs, sector seven, to get something. Maybe you should consider waiting for them to return or go help them? More guns has to help."

"Not in close quarters," Nihlus said as he shook his head. "We aren't some old fashioned krogan army that climbs over the bodies of its own dead to keep going. Too many people would just get clogged in the halls."

"I'll trust you on that," he said with a shrug as he pulled out a card. "Here, this code should initiate the radiation purge - 875-020-079. I'd upload a copy to each of your omni-tools just in case."

Ashley nodded, activating hers as Nihlus passed the card around and they all scanned a copy. "Anything else we should know?" she asked as she handed it to Garrus.

"Well, have you met a Praetorian before?"

"Oh fuck me…" Jenkins muttered as he stopped punching the code into his omni-tool to look at the scientist.

"It will, if you give it the chance. We weren't able to get all the plasma jets online for the ones we had contained, though the good news is that the tight corners should prevent it from following you. Still, we've heard a lot of banging, so it might be trying to get through…"

"Would a radiation purge even kill it?" Liara asked. "I mean, that one we saw on Rayingri had to be smashed by the Mako…"

"There's enough gaps for it to get in, and it's more about frying the cybernetics anyways," he answered with a nod. "You been briefed on the husk types and the code names?"

"Give us the quick version," Nihlus said.

"Right; I already mentioned Banshees. Marauders are the turians with guns, Sappers are the quarians with omni-tools, Ravagers are the rachni with cannons while Swarmers are the ones that pop out of their sacs, and Boomers are the volus husks."

"So, the volus are the explosive ones?" Ashley asked. "As in, shatter security glass exploding."

"Found some?"

"One took out a hallway, another wrecked the monorail security station," Garrus added.

"Then you know what they can do. Actually, you should consider trying to use them against the husks. The structural integrity of the hot labs should withstand the explosions, and well… they'll blow up anyways."

Ashley grinned as how much damage they could do crossed her mind, and she looked towards Liara. "You want to throw them into the crowds?"

"Uh, sure," Liara said, blinking for a moment.

"We'll talk tactics on the way down, let's move," Nihlus ordered.

XXXXX

"Remember how I questioned your choice of Shredder for your shotgun?" Etel asked as she looked at Williams.

"Yeah; what about it?" the marine asked as she glanced down at her shotgun.

"I think we're about to see if you were right," Etel finished as she checked her incendiary ammo and nodded to herself.

"Get ready," Nihlus said as the elevator came down and the moment it opened he, Etel, and Williams moved forward, shotguns in hand as the others followed up behind them. They were in a short hallway, but ahead was a jammed open door to a wide, rectangular room with no furniture.

What it did have, however, was plenty of husks, and a volus husk was at the fore.

"Liara, Boomer at twelve!" Alenko ordered as Nihlus crouched. The asari launched the husk into the crowd with biotics and Garrus shot it with a sniper round as it flew into the mass. Averting her eyes as the armor-piercing round penetrated the suit, the room ahead exploded, followed by a few other smaller explosions.

"_Go go GO_!" Nihlus ordered as the dust settled. They stormed into the room, now thoroughly covered in scorch marks, blacked remains of husks of various species, and the remains of volus pressure suits. The explosion had put several dents into the ceiling, but the integrity seemed to be uncompromised. The husks that had survived - many of them burned or damaged - were picking themselves off the floor with their cybernetics audible over the din, a few sparks coming out of some that had been partially eviscerated.

Etel rushed forward towards a human husk, blasting it aside with her shotgun before turning and activating her omni-blade, slashing the head off of another human husk that was trying to reach for her. Nihlus and Williams were similarly engaged, Williams' shredder ammo tearing through the husks while the sledgehammer rounds in Nihlus' shotgun blew them backwards, allowing Liara to release a biotic shockwave into the clustered husks.

"Krogan charging!" Jenkins warned as a large husk with an oversized head came out from the other end of the room. A sniper round tore through its leg, causing it to stagger and stumble forward. Etel hit it with a biotic throw, causing it to stagger the other way before turning towards a quarian husk.

Grunting, Etel staggered back as her kinetic barrier broke, then she felt a shock run through her body as a second disc hit her armor. Dropping her shotgun, she dropped to a knee as her neck felt as if someone had slammed an axe into the back of it, her left hand instinctively reaching towards where her biotic amp was. She looked up as the quarian husk moved in with an omni-blade and activated her own, parrying the blade before punching it in the chest. The husk grunted, a mechanical, choked up grunt, but a grunt none the less. Etel followed up by grabbing her pistol and plugging several rounds into its chest.

"Shep, you okay?!" Williams asked as the fight was quickly forcing the last of the husks into the left corner.

"I'm fine," she muttered as she holstered the pistol, picked up her shotgun, and ran back into the fight. _I hate damping,_ she thought irritably as she rushed in with the others and tore up the last few husks.

"It won't be long until more show up," Garrus warned as the last husk - a salarian one - collapsed as Kaidan shocked it with his omni-tool.

"Hey, you alright?" Williams asked.

"Yes," Etel answered as she put a hand over where here amp was. "The amp will reset soon enough; just got damped."

"Heh, that would've knocked me out," Alenko muttered.

"The L2?" Liara asked, glancing side to side as she did so.

"Yeah," he answered as they moved forward. Another husk was in the control room ahead, but a shotgun blast from Nihlus sent it into the sealed door ahead with a dull thud. A few more thuds followed from the other side, but the door held. Garrus and Williams kept aiming at the door as Nihlus, Jenkins, and Etel walked up to the terminal.

Nihlus walked up to the terminal and paused, hesitating.

"What is it?" Jenkins asked. "Something wrong?"

The turian Spectre did not answer, simply activating the console and the VI they had seen earlier appeared yet again.

"Hello. It appears you are attempting to access the Hotlab Protocols. Would you like some help?"

"Here too?" Etel asked as she groaned.

"Just activate the radiation purge, code 875-020-079."

The VI paused for a moment as the banging got louder. "Code accepted. Priming radiation charges. Warning: Hot Labs unprotected! Warning: Specimen containment has failed! Warning, massive energy surge de-"

The door that had been sealed was torn open by two large claws, a massive four eyed monster glaring into the control room. Behind it, loud, ear piercing shrieks.

"Jesus Christ not another one!" Williams shouted as she and Garrus both opened fire.

"The vents!" Liara shouted as she flung a biotic singularity at one above them that fell open. Two husks had dropped out, but were caught in the gravity well and bounced against the ceiling as they floated up.

"Move!" Nihlus ordered and they all made for the elevator. More husks tried to block them, dropping out of the vents and climbing from what seemed to be every corner. The team did not slow down for them at all, batting them aside or blowing them away as they made for the elevator. A Ravager came out of a vent to their left, but a grenade from Garrus prevented it from firing before they had left the room.

Behind them, the Praetorian tore open the rest of the door and launched after them. As it landed behind them Etel was knocked off her feet by the shockwave and landed on her knees, but Williams grabbed her hand and pulled her up as they sprinted into the elevator.

"Close the door close the door _close the door_!" Liara shouted as the Praetorian was crouching for another attack.

As soon as they were all inside Jenkins began hammering the 'close' button like it wasn't working. The door closed and there was a loud crash as the monstrosity likely hit it, then Alenko hit a button for one of the upper floors and the elevator shot up.

And below them, the sound of a cascade of detonations echoed and shook the whole elevator as it came to a slow stop at the tramway station, the door opening.

"Well," Jenkins said. "That could have gone worse."

The elevator groaned for a second and Etel's eyes went wide, then it slid down a meter before stopping, causing everyone to stagger as it came to a sudden stop again. The door was still reachable and the top of the elevator hadn't made the opening too narrow, but they were going to have to climb up.

"You had to say it corporal, didn't you?"

"Sorry, commander…"

XXXXXXX

"You know Wrex," Tali said, looking at hacked camera feed that showed numerous items piled in a semicircle barricade around the door leading to the sickbay. "Usually, when people come to kill someone they don't set up barricades to keep them in."

"Then they don't have a krogan with them," Wrex said. Cohen was there with them, alongside the asari that been there when they arrived. "You okay, kiddo?"

"That's an interesting question to ask,", Tali snorted as she shut down the feed. "I mean, you're the one who got gutted and was in the middle picking out various bits when this happened."

"Hey, not everyone's as tough as krogan. Can't blame this old warhorse for being concerned," Wrex humped.

"This is the weirdest day ever," Cohen said, sitting on his chair. "So, you people have any plans other than waiting here until they decide to throw in enough grenades to blow this whole room apart?"

"First I want to know why they suddenly want us dead," Wrex responded. "They weren't this trigger happy when we came here, and whatever they're doing, it's clearly acting on someone's orders. Question is, who's? Ventralis', or someone else?"

Tali frowned. "Hey, you think we can tap into the comms from here? Maybe we'll overhear something that'll be useful to Etel and the others once they're out of the Hot Labs."

"Well, you've already tapped into the cameras, so maybe they're linked? I don't know, I'm just a doctor here," Cohen said, before shrugging.

Tali nodded as she reactivated her omni-tool. "Let's see… reroute this… bypass that…" she muttered as she worked, "and there we go!"

Adjusting her omni-tool, Tali listened in to an ongoing conversation. The first voice was female.

"_Don't let them in, if they are allowed to interfere, they'll disrupt the whole war effort! I need more time to recover the artifact, Ventralis."_

"_Matriarch, are you absolutely certain? They've been helping us with the husks, they're getting rid of the main horde now."_

"_Then they're doing so to get your trust. They are the ones who are deploying the husks."_

"Oh for God's sake…" Tali muttered. "That's it, I'm going to find Benezia and shove a damping proximity mine so far up her…"

"Wait a moment," Wrex said. "She said _we're_ the ones deploying the husks?"

"She's lying, isn't she?" Cohen asked, looking between them. "I mean, you are travelling with a knight and I _know_ that this kind of stuff would be blasphemy to that Faith of Abraham. There's no way a knight would go for it. Plus, you're with a Spectre. Even if Spectres compartmentalize I doubt it would involve keeping important details like this hidden if you got the call."

"She's lying," Tali finished. "You've been lied to the whole time about what the facility was for."

"I see," Cohen said as he nodded slowly and rubbed his chin. "Well, I've always been uncomfortable with this, so here." He pulled something out of his pocket. "Take this keycard; it'll give you access to a back route into section seven, where Benezia is. The radiation purge wouldn't have hit that area, so there might still be husks there, but at least you won't walk into an ambush that way."

"Thanks," Tali said as she turned. "Now, let's see if we can warn the others that Ventralis might start shooting…"

XXXXXX

As they came out of the elevator to where the survivors were holed up, Ventralis and his men aimed rifles at them.

"Sorry," Ventralis said, "but we just got new orders."

Etel, Alenko, and Liara all both threw up biotic barriers as everyone drew their weapons. "Why?" Nihlus asked, though he seemed unsurprised.

"Look, I didn't want to do this," he explained, "but we got our orders and Matriarch Benezia just said that you're interfering with whatever war effort is going on."

"Ask yourself," Etel said as she stepped forward and lowered her part of the barrier, "do you really think what you're doing is right?"

Ventralis raised an eyebrow but did not lower his rifle. "Yeah, I've had sleepless nights over the shit we've done, but who hasn't in war?"

"Then it might help to know that Benezia is the renegade, as is the Spectre you were working for," Nihlus explained. "They've been using you as pawns, using the facilities here to continue to attack Citadel space."

"With what?" a mercenary asked.

"Geth, Collectors… husks," Etel added as she gestured towards the vent. "That's what Saren is deploying against us. He's killing people, then throwing them against their friends. Just like what you've been suffering. We're trying to stop him, trying to stop more people from being defiled into those monsters."

"Look, I'm sorry but…" Ventralis hesitated. "Well, a good mercenary keeps his word, right? It's about all we have…"

"That'll be the only thing you'll have soon enough," Williams cut in as she stepped forward. "We just took out all the husks that you lot couldn't take on, and we're still good to go. Either get out of our way, or we'll add you to the pile before taking down Benezia."

"Fuck it," one of the turian mercenaries grumbled as he dropped his shotgun. "I'm not dying for some crazy old asari and her geth bodyguards."

Ventralis paused as his men mumbled agreements or weak protests before he sighed, lowering his rifle. The Spectre led team followed suit. "Alright, we won't stop you. We'll just focus on keeping everyone safe, but we're putting our butts on the line here doing it, so you better be right."

"Start evacuating people out using the tram," Nihlus ordered. "It should be clear and now is the time to escape with the husks gone."

"And what if Benezia shows up?" Another mercenary, a human woman, asked.

"She'll be too busy with us," Etel answered. "Just get everyone out of here and try to get word to the port that the lab's countermeasures are in place, so they won't panic and send in a nuke."

"Well you heard the Spectre, let's get that monorail secured and start evacuating!" Ventralis ordered. "There's probably husks that weren't caught so stay sharp and keep your heat low."

And with that, the mercenaries sprang to work while Nihlus led them into the compound.

"That went... better than expected," Williams commented. "Didn't actually expect them to abandon Benezia."

"I guess they had enough of this project," Etel nodded. "It's something you occasionally see in the Terminus. Sometimes slavers are not part of a raid because they want to be there. Or at least, attacking a specific place. Then once you kill whoever is driving them on, they surrender or just leave."

"If there is something scary at the front, put something scarier at the back," Williams said with a nod. "And in this case, the 'something scary at the back' is not even around."

"Pretty much," Etel shrugged. Suddenly, her omni-tool began beeping, informing her that she had a call coming. She accepted it.

"_Etel, it's Tali! Benezia just gave the mercs an order to kill us, she said we were releasing the husks and..."_ Tali's voice came from the omni-tool.

"Tali, calm down," Etel ordered as a faint smirk crossed her face. "The situation is under control. We told them the truth and after some consideration the mercenaries decided enough was enough. They're going to focus on evacuating people through the tram now that the main horde is gone."

"_Oh. Uh, well, that's good to hear,"_ Tali responded, sounding both relieved and surprised. _"Wrex and I will be waiting for you in the sick bay. You might want to ask the guys outside to clear the barricade."_

"What, you can't do it? I mean, if you set up one then..."

"_No no no, it was done by them to keep us, or more specifically Wrex, inside."_

"Oh."

"Little thin to keep a krogan in," Williams commented as they entered the main refuge and saw the barricade, which was being pulled apart by some of the mercenaries already. A few minutes later it was removed entirely, Tali and Wrex opening the door on their end and walking out.

"All fixed up?" Nihlus asked.

"As much as we can," Wrex said with a nod. "Still on medi-gel to keep the regen going, but I can get Benezia."

"Also," Tali said as she held up a card. "A back way into the area where Benezia is. Radiation charges wouldn't have cleared it, but at least this way she won't be able to leave an ambush."

"Good job," Nihlus said firmly. "Let's move."

XXXXXXX

The keycard had led them through a service tunnel, which was silent save for the dripping of melting ice. As they entered sector seven, they found that it was easy to figure out which way Benezia had gone: they just had to follow the piles of husk corpses.

"Huh, storm's starting to lift," Jenkins commented as they passed a window.

"Let's do this quickly then," Nihlus said as they moved forward.

Rounding a corner where there were both geth and husk casualties, they found an older asari wearing black, only her face visible with the headpiece she wore. She was standing above them on a raised platform with stairs leading up to it, in front of some kind of safe. The rest of the room to the right of the platform was open and looked like it had been some sort of test facility, though all the safety barriers and supplies had been scattered across the room.

"Well, look who it is. The unbelievers," Benezia snarled as the team entered the room and spread out, taking cover behind rails, crates, and in Garrus' case a large security mech that was missing its arms. Etel found herself in cover next to Liara and Alenko, both of them to her left. Benezia was entering something into a console as she spared a quick glance towards them before continuing to type.

"Surrender, Benezia!" Nihlus ordered. "You're outnumbered and outgunned. If you come with us peacefully, we will deal with this like civilized people," Nihlus added, remaining half in cover, but not actively aiming at the asari.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I have a mission to carry out and I can't let you stand in my way," Benezia countered as the safe next to her opened, revealing something small inside it. Etel tried to strain her neck to see, but without getting out of cover she could not make out what the matriarch was after.

Finally, Benezia looked at the team. "I see you brought my daughter with you. Do not dare to presume that her presence will deter me, but I will gladly take her with me when I leave. It has been far too long."

"Mom, please, I don't want to fight you!" Liara pleaded, standing up. Etel noticed that Alenko was about to pull her down before hesitating and staying down himself.

"Then don't. Come with me and I shall show you what it means to serve a true deity."

"What are you talking about?" The confusion was clear in Liara's voice. Etel felt something stirring in the back of her mind; something was off here.

_What does she mean by a 'true deity'?_ the knight wondered as she looked around for any possible flanks to consider. Other than the door at the other side of Benezia, the room was just one giant box.

"So, what is your goal here? That thing?" Nihlus asked as he completely ducked behind the crate he had put himself behind and aiming his assault rifle at the matriarch. "And don't try to grab it, your shields won't survive the barrage."

"If you insist, yes. This is my goal, one of the pieces I need for a puzzle," Benezia scoffed as she looked towards where Etel was. "Just like many of your people resisted the coming of your 'prophet', knight, the protheans resisted the transcendence being offered to them with violence. Yet, just as your faith spread throughout humanity as you were uplifted, now we will avoid their mistake and gain what the protheans rejected."

"Weird time to preach. Now hands in the air," Etel said as she leaned out of cover to better aim her shotgun. Liara ducked back down into cover as she did so.

"Hmph. You should know, daughter of Abraham, what it means to serve a higher calling, a higher power," Benezia said as biotic glow engulfed her. "The difference between you and me, however, is that mine is _real_ and not just some text on paper."

"Yeah, she's gone crazy," Etel snorted as she mused that Benezia had not done her research. "I've heard that spiel more than once in Terminus. Why don't we skip the theological cheap shots and skip right to shooting?"

"Very well," Benezia answered with a half smirk as she looked between each of them.

"That can't be my mother, she never acted like this," Liara whispered.

Nihlus either did not hear her or did not respond as he was focused on Benezia. "If you don't come with us quietly, then we will use force. Take her down!" Nihlus ordered and Etel rose out of cover, biotics ready.

"SHE'S USING STASIS!" Liara screamed, warning them just as the team found themselves also glowing in biotic aura, unable to move.

Etel quickly began to focus on her own biotics, using the techniques she had been taught to counteract the mass effect field holding her own. Even then, she had to admire that the asari matriarch was holding nine people, including a krogan, in a biotic stasis. _I have a hard enough time keeping one person down!_ she thought as she broke the mass effect fields and shook her head. Liara, Wrex, and Alenko had also managed to break the barriers themselves.

"Hit her NOW!" Wrex ordered, but before he could attack gunfire scythed in from behind Benezia as a few geth troopers ran into the room, assault rifles and shotguns in hand.

Etel held her hand back, charging her biotics and trying to throw Benezia back. The asari saw it and waved a hand, blocking the biotic attack but was pushed back slightly as Wrex charged up the stairs. Two geth troopers with shotguns tried to get in the krogan's way but were knocked back and he crashed into Benezia, knocking her to the floor.

As Liara and Alenko rushed forward, blocking geth fire with a pair of biotic barriers, Etel saw the others recovering and Tali immediately sprung into action, launching a disc at one of the geth troopers who paused, then turned to gun down the one behind it.

Wrex grunted as he came flying backwards, glowing from the effect of biotics. "Defend the matriarch!" an asari shouted and as Etel reached the top of the stairs, her stomach ran cold.

"Commandos!" Nihlus immediately warned as he opened fire on one, but a biotic barrier stopped the initial fire.

Benezia sprang back onto her feet, grabbed whatever was in the safe, and ran as the commandos filed in to cover her. The two groups spread out as much as the larger room allowed, a half dozen commandos interdicting them.

"Mother, what are you doing?!" Liara shouted as she ran forward. One of the commandos aimed at her, but hesitated just long enough for Liara to smack her to the side with a biotic throw.

"Liara!" Alenko shouted as he tried to move forward, but another commando shot a disc towards him and his kinetic barrier broke, followed quickly by several rounds before Williams rushed to him and dragged him behind a crate. While Jenkins administered first aid the Lieutenant-Commander suppressed the commando that had wounded him.

Etel found herself engaged with another commando, aggressive and both of them were moving towards each other for shotgun range. _And these aren't some colonial levy,_ she reminded herself. Commandos were rightly feared, but not all of them were as lethal as the elite soldiers of Thessia in the room. _Then again, few humans have faced Thessia's finest and lived,_ she realized as a shotgun blast cut across the top of her helmet, the warp rounds punching past her weakened kinetic barrier from the initial exchange.

Throwing up a biotic barrier to replace it, she leaned out of cover as the commando moved forward, shotgun venting heat as she sprinted. Etel took the chance, firing her own shotgun before drawing her omni-blade for melee. The commando matched, generating a biotic field around her hand and blocked. The force shattered the silicon-carbide blade and the recoil of the blow caused Etel to drop the biotic barrier as her focus was interrupted. The asari followed up immediately, kneeing her in the crotch.

Grunting from the pain, Etel bent over but rolled with the biotic punch that followed, stopping behind a crate as bullets from another commando hit where she had landed. Glancing to the side, she noticed Jenkins flying across the room after being caught with a biotic throw, and a gas container. Reaching for it with her own biotics, Etel threw the container at the commando that was moving in.

The commando saw it in time and threw the container away, Garrus cursing loudly as it went his way. Etel seized the opportunity, grabbing her pistol and firing off a few quick shots, breaking the commando's kinetic barrier before the asari reacted and fired her own shotgun back.

Etel rolled to the side as the blast caught the edge of her recharging barrier and shattered it again, and she moved forward, reaching out with her biotics to pull the commando closer. The commando responded, counteracting the biotic force, but by that point Etel had closed in.

Grappling her opponent by the arms, Etel threw her to the ground. The commando rolled, but by that time Etel's omni-tool had flash forged another blade and she brought it down, stabbing the commando in the stomach, and the roll cut the commando further. By the time the commando's roll had come to an end, the omni-blade had slashed open half her stomach.

_Scratch one,_ she thought as she threw herself back behind cover and grabbed her shotgun again, peeking out for a view of how the battle was going.

Nihlus and Wrex had both dealt with the two commandos that had gone for them, while Williams was finishing hers off with a murder of assault rifle fire. The other three commandos were giving the others trouble, though, with Tali and Jenkins both pinned down by one behind a crate that was starting to melt under the assault rifle fire it was taking.

She saw Nihlus launching a proximity mine as he rocketed forward with his jet boots. The asari commando he was dueling saw both coming and launched herself to the side with biotics before the proximity mine hit her.

"Shepard, Williams, go find Benezia!" the Spectre ordered as he landed and knocked the commando backwards with a shotgun blast.

Etel nodded and rushed out the door, Williams not far behind as they left the battle and tried to follow the signature from Liara's armor in their HUDs.

_Thank God for helmet displays,_ the knight mused as they ran through the facility.

XXXXXXX

"Why are you doing this?!" Liara shouted as she brought down a shelf full of beakers with her biotics. Benezia saw it coming and threw it back into the wall with her own, shattering the contents with the force used.

"Because there are greater things in this galaxy, things that stand above everything," her mother answered as she turned and threw a table towards Liara. Diving down, Liara ducked along the metal floor, paint peeling off of her hardsuit as she slid under the table.

"Greater things? _Greater things_?!" she screamed back as she picked herself up and ran forward as her mother reached a ladder that went up. "What happened to everyone having a value, everyone contributing to the whole?"

"I learned a better way to contribute, Liara," she answered as she began to climb.

Liara had a hard time describing the rush of emotions - anger, confusion, loss, desperation, some mix of the above? - but the result was clear as she tried to pull her mother down the ladder with biotics. Her mother countered and the mass effect fields between them blew, pieces of the railing and fixtures on the wall shattering and falling down on them, along with something else.

Liara threw up a barrier bubble to shield herself from the falling wreckage, and once it was done she shot up the ladder as she saw Benezia close the hatch at the top.

_Why?_ she wondered as she climbed up as fast as she could, blasting the hatch off with a biotic throw and opening the shaft to the elements as she saw Benezia running towards the shuttle at the far end of the roof, across a small gap. As Liara leapt over the gap, Benezia stopped in front of the shuttle and turned to face her as the shuttle's engines were beginning to warm up.

"Liara," Benezia said as she held a hand out, "Please. Come with me, I can show you everything I've learned since I sought out the Collectors. The galaxy, Liara… there's so much more than what we thought. Please."

"I… I don't even know you anymore!" Liara screamed back as she came to a stop about ten meters away from her. "My mother wouldn't be helping a monster murder thousands, she wouldn't be condoning these kinds of experiments! What... what happened to the woman who taught me to value the histories and beliefs of others?!"

"If I had known what I knew now, I would have shown you," Benezia explained, glaring past her. "But you have a chance. Do you really think that your so-called friends would trust you? Do you honestly think that they are in the right, dragging a young maiden with no military experience into the galaxy's horrors?"

"I _chose_ to help them!" Liara shouted as she moved forward, bringing as much of her biotic power to bear as she could. "And I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else!"

She brought her arms together, the mass effect fields condensing near Benezia into a large singularity, large enough it was starting to slowly rotate the shuttle and warping the metal roof. The older asari leapt to the side, blocking the pull on her with her own biotics before pulling Liara closer.

Expending everything she had, Liara was barely able to stop it before she was pulled too close and the singularity collapsed as her focus was broken, the rim of her helmet and her nose rubbing against the metal and she felt something sharp hit her face, followed by a trickle running down her face. She couldn't tell if it was blood or tears, though, as she pushed herself up and tried to warp her mother's biotic barriers.

The matriarch counteracted it, and suddenly Liara found herself being lifted into the air.

"Lesson one, never overcommit," Benezia said, walking forward as Liara counteracted the biotic forces and fell to the ground, stumbling as she tried to stand up straight.

"Lesson two, always stay in motion if possible."

Liara found herself thrown to the side, into a pillar. A flash obscured her vision as she hit the steel and she dropped to her knees as something purplish fell onto the roof below her.

"Lesson three," Benezia continued as she pinned Liara against the pillar again, "never attack a trained biotic, commando or otherwise, without knowing your next three steps."

"_Benezia!_"

Both of them stopped and Liara could make out Williams and Shepard jumping over the gap, weapons in hand and in Etel's case, biotics already glowing. The Alliance marine opened fire immediately and Benezia was forced to let Liara go to focus on a biotic barrier.

The barrier flashed not only as the bullets hit it, but as the knight attacked with biotics as well, the human's biotics exploding off of the barrier. Benezia, grunting under the sudden barrage, looked at Liara, then to the shuttle, and sprinted onto it. The shuttle's door closed behind the matriarch as she leapt in.

Williams shifted her assault rifle fire towards the shuttle, before dropping it as it began to vent heat and instead her sniper rifle. "The engines!" she called.

The knight nodded, trying to weaken the shuttle's kinetic barrier with a biotic field as Williams fired at the engines. The shot did not make it through the kinetic barriers as it was hovering over them.

"Mother…" Liara muttered as she stared up at the shuttle as it wobbled briefly from the fading storm before launching away.

"Damn, hang on Liara!" Williams shouted as she rushed over, sniper rifle still in hand as the two hurried over.

"Let's get her inside," Shepard answered as she crouched next to her and activated her omni-tool. "Did you at least see what Benezia was after?"

"No, I didn't," Liara said as the knight helped her onto her feet. She was sore, but she could walk.

Williams holstered her sniper rifle, reaching for the assault rifle before realizing it was missing and instead drew her pistol. The marine and knight both kept their weapons aimed at various antennae, beams, and ducts that stuck out of the roof, Williams picking her assault rifle back up as they moved back. It only took a minute for them to get to the ladder and start climbing back down, though the wind was still blowing hard enough to be felt in the shaft.

"So, Benezia got away," Williams muttered as they reached the bottom of the ladder.

Shepard was not paying attention, however, looking down at the debris at their feet. "Uh, Shepard?" Liara asked uncertainly.

"She may have gotten away," the knight said as she knelt down and picked up a small object, thin and rectangular with a pattern traced into it. Liara's heart skipped a beat as she realized what it was.

"It's prothean," she said as her eyes went wide in spite of the blood trailing down the right side of her face.

"Someone's going to be _very_ mad when they realize they dropped it…" Williams muttered.

XXXXXX

"Ah, Sparatus," Tevos greeted the turian as he entered. "Glad you could make it."

"Considering how much free time is a premium these days, I wouldn't have missed this," Sparatus responded, moving to a couch in Tevos' private apartment. Valern was already sitting on one of the chairs, having removed his hood and massaging his horns.

"This whole conflict is causing a lot of ruckus," the salarian said. "At least our little project seems to be making progress."

"Yes, quite so," Tevos nodded, reaching for her drink. "Especially Nihlus' candidates. Those two are probably our best bet on this whole thing."

"Still, I expected them to go around busting cartels and terrorists, not saving entire planets from geth and Collectors," Sparatus commented, reaching into his bag and opening a can of his own drink. "Then again, no plan survives contact with reality."

"True, but I still wish that it didn't take a galactic war to make those two to agree on anything," the asari matriarch muttered, taking a sip. "Still, the human media outlets are drumming them up and focusing less on their differences or odd happenings at the other home planet, and more on mutual accomplishments."

"Understandable," Valern nodded in response. "And with the Empire giving the Alliance official military access, they've been able to shore up their lines towards the Veil. Likewise the Alliance is giving the Empire's naval ships the needed passage to respond to distant attacks. A report about one of those orders helping an Alliance colony crossed my desk this morning, though the details were scarce as it was an initial report."

"I never imagined them putting things aside so easily; no matter what our diplomats said they had very firm lines in the sand." Tevos commented. "But I suppose the rachni being at the gates makes it all seem smaller."

"Even then, I am worried about the recent war efforts," Valern cut in as he stopped rubbing his horns. "Without ability to strike back, we are at the mercy of the enemy. Saren's forces could strike whenever they wish, and we can't do much more than respond to attacks in our space."

"Damn Terminus warlords," Sparatus spat, "If they just let us go and fight the geth we could end this a lot faster. Drop a few asteroids on Rannoch if we had to; it's not like the quarians are using it anymore."

"Let's not antagonize the quarians unnecessarily; even if they don't live on it they still hold it with a nearly religious regard. Their fleet is old, but it is numerous and does have enough weapons to cause trouble, even for the Hierarchy. We've got enough to deal with without having a quarian insurrection on our hands," Valern warned as he shook his head. "Though yes, being able to reach the geth would at least let us go on the offensive."

"Going on the offensive will have to wait, though. We lost contact with some of the outlying colonies," Tevos said, looking down at her glass. "Ilium reported that they had detected geth scouts in their system. I authorized a trade for some of the old frigates sitting over Thessia to them, but if they actually get attacked I doubt it will help."

"I wonder what made geth suddenly team up with the Collectors, or what the deal with the Collectors is anyway," Sparatus wondered, emptying his drink. "It makes no sense."

"Too late to wonder that now," Valern commented. "What we need to do is to ensure safety of our people and hope that Nihlus and his team sort this out. Still, Nihlus' team seems to be on the trail of the reason behind it."

"So, where are they now?" Tevos asked.

"Noveria. Nihlus' last report said they were following a lead," Valern answered. "My guess is that they are dead from boredom at this point. Dealing with Noveria bureaucrats is not a fun experience," the salarian reached for his own and so far untouched drink.

"This is Nihlus we're talking about," Sparatus said as he shook his head. "Chances are, someone has already been shot and we have to deal with a new political shitstorm once he decides to call us. Assuming Noveria doesn't call first to complain."

"Let's worry about it the later, the movie is about to start!" Tevos said, activating her custom made surround sound system. The other two Councilors merely raised their drinks in agreement and got themselves better positions in the furniture.

XXXXX

"_Halt right there, we've got hundred-twenty-fives aimed at you! Come out with your hands in the air and with no weapons!"_

Ashley growled as she brought the Mako to a halt, the other vehicles in the convoy of survivors from the Peak 15 facility stopping behind them. It had taken them some time to gather up everyone, but with the storm abating the trip back to the Port had been far easier than reaching it.

"Do as Captain Matsuo says," Nihlus ordered. "Let's not argue with heavy turrets."

As they filed out, Matsuo approached them, flanked by dozens of guards who all had assault rifles, shotguns, and Ashley spotted multiple snipers taking aim from various vantage points on the sheltered road into the garage. They were not going to fight their way out of this one.

"Nihlus, Nihlus, Nihlus…" Matsuo muttered. "Why did you have to bring the knight with you?"

"Considering you had a husk infestation on your hands in Peak 15 and we're in the middle of a war, I would hope the reason is damn obvious!" the Spectre shot back as he slowly folded his arms. Some of the guards tensed, but no one fired as it was clear he was just posturing. "Where did Benezia's shuttle go?"

Matsuo paused, looking stricken for a moment before she hardened her glare. "Out of system; we don't track ships past the relay. Not that it's your concern; you're going to have to explain to the Alliance why their ship's been impounded."

"I hope you idiots weren't dumb enough to board the _Normandy_," Ashley immediately warned. "Matsuo, you're a former marine. You know how hard it is to board a ship with an old N7 onboard."

"No, we didn't board, but until this is sorted out you're all staying put on Noveria and under arrest. The crew of the _Normandy_ will be well treated as they weren't involved in this, but you lot on the other hand…"

"Do you really want to play this game?" Nihlus asked as he looked at the mercenaries.

"Personally, no, but the Executive Board is wants to fillet you lot. Now, if you hand in your weapons, omni-tools, amps, and let us take out the K-barriers from your suits, we'll let you meet the Executive Board and you can argue with them."

"Call Captain Anderson," Nihlus said. "We'll hand our equipment to the _Normandy_ crew. Omni-tools included. Unless you want me to activate an emergency upload that I set on the way back - if my heartrate stops, I upload everything on this tool to contacts who'll get this to the appropriate people. Do you want to risk it, Matuso?"

The captain paused, then lowered her rifle. "Alright, but you'll be under heavy guard the entire time. And I want the ship captain overseeing it, no funny business."

They were led into the garage as Matsuo called the appropriate people, and soon Anderson arrived. Nihlus handed him the prothean artifact and then the team began to unequip themselves.

As they were handing their equipment to the _Normandy's_ crew, Ashley noticed that Shepard was frowning, looking down at her hands as she was left idle. _Does she blame herself for this?_ Ashley wondered as she handed Anderson her pistol.

"Hey, keep a straight face," Anderson muttered as he took Ashley's pistol. "Don't let the big-wigs scare you. They talk a lot of bark, but they're also dirty cowards."

"Yes sir," she answered automatically.

After a half hour of switching out the equipment, they were led to the upper offices of Port Hanshan. Most of the ground team were led to the detention area, leaving Ashley, Shepard, and Nihlus to face the leaders of Noveria.

They met in a round meeting room that was surrounded with ice sculptures of various alien creatures, though Ashley recognized none of them. A semicircular table with the flat end facing the door greeting them as the corporate suits that ran Noveria were watching them. Among them, Ashley noticed, was Shepard's uncle standing near one of the executives on the end. She noticed too as she tensed a glare at him, though he either ignored it or had already brushed it off.

Besides the various aides or other representatives, the board itself had seven members - two salarians, a turian, a human woman, a pair of volus - one of whom sat at the center - and lastly an elcor. All of them were glaring at the team, leaving Ashley feeling naked without her guns or kinetic-barriers.

"Derisive Statement: Will you explain yourselves?" the elcor began.

"Quite so," the volus sitting at the center said as he leaned forward. "You've put us in a very difficult position, Spectre."

"I wouldn't be so hasty," Shepard cut in, stepping forward. "Look, your problem is with me. I chose to go with them because I could not stand by while my friends were fighting husks and worse. If you want to be sure that corporate secrets weren't revealed, ask me all the questions you want. I've got nothing to hide."

"Oh, I'm sure that the honor of a duly recognized Knight has been upheld," the human woman cut in, and based on her accent which was not too far removed from Shepard's, Ashley pegged her as being from an Imperial world. "But that does not mean that we can reassure our clients that it was."

"I'm sure your clients will be happy to note that you guys are letting war crimes happen under your watch," Ashley snarled as she looked at them. "Do you really want to have to explain to the public why Peak 15 was working on upgrades for husks?"

"Williams," Nihlus quietly muttered, barely moving his face. "No threats."

Ashley paused, then gave the turian a silent nod as he stepped forward.

"She put it more aggressively than I would, but she's right. This all happened on Noveria's watch and we both know that you stand on a very narrow precipice," the Spectre said as he looked along the row of executives. "You want to reassure your clients that you're upholding your promises, and the public needs to think that your treaty is still valid."

"It would be, had the Citadel not violated it first," the turian snarled. "Looking into our records, Binary Helix purchased the Peak 15 facility at Spectre Arterius' behest roughly three months ago, under the assumption that he was simply choosing Binary Helix as a method of performing Spectre missions due to his extensive investments. This is before the Council declared him a renegade."

"Smug Explanation: According to the treaty, Article Four, Section D, _Citadel backed business may be performed so long as the Executive Board of Noveria is informed of goings on within._ We only received reports of general genetic studies and autopsy. Proudly Concluding: Therefore, the Council has violated the treaty."

_Technically true?_ Ashley wondered, but she still saw the thrust of the elcor's point.

"I see," Nihlus said as he folded his arms. "Well, we don't know how long Saren had been rogue, but this does not mean that our operation was a violation. If anything, this operation has saved you all from having to explain it breaking out."

"And had you done so without bringing that zealot, you'd be hailed as a hero!" the leading volus snarled. "Does the Citadel care so little for the treaty?"

"Yes." Nihlus said, stunning Ashley with the bluntness.

"Uh, Spectre Kryik…" Shepard asked, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Let's not dance around the thresher maw's nest," the Spectre continued. "No one likes this arrangement. It was tentatively granted because of Noveria's strategic secondary relay and the potential economic and technological benefits. But it was one of the Council's most unpopular votes in history, even more so than the genophage or not helping the quarians take back Rannoch. How many have looked for an excuse to simply seize Noveria and shut down all your mad science? You have strong defenses, but not strong enough to deal with a fleet from the Turian Hierarchy, nevermind one augmented with support from the asari, salarians, or either human nation."

The board continued to glare at the Spectre as he went on. "And quite frankly, this is a massive violation as we both know the treaty does not allow Noveria to supply arms to the Citadel's enemies. Now, you can let this slide and we won't use the excuse to hammer you into the ground, or you can try to detain us and have to explain to the galaxy why you're siding against the Citadel. In the current environment, you know that you'll be incinerated by the press, let alone government leaders."

The board shifted until finally the elcor spoke up.

"Terrified Defiance: This board was not involved."

"He's correct," the woman said after clearing her throat. "We were under the impression that Peak 15 was for a Spectre operation elsewhere. We were just as fooled as the rest of you. However…"

The leading volus sighed, a hand running along the beard-like metal protrusion on his suit's face mask. "We will not press this as a violation, but we need some assurance for our clients."

"The assurance is that we're not tearing apart Binary Helix itself," Nihlus said as he folded his arms. "I imagine that they'll be going down anyways just from the public relations fallout, but if Noveria fully cooperates, I'm sure the Council will be willing to let this slide as you are just victims. You let us go and keep nothing back in regards to the Peak 15 facility after Saren's acquisition, we tell the Council that the treaty was upheld. Any objections?"

"Works for me," Ashley said with a shrug.

"Relieved: This arrangement will suffice."

"Yes, that is… acceptable," the volus not sitting in the middle said. The rest of the board followed suit.

"Shepard?" Nihlus asked as he looked at the Knight, who had a faint scowl on her face.

Finally, she sighed. "Yes, I can agree to this."

"Good," the leading volus said as he rose. "Then this incident is behind us, but do not expect it to be forgotten. Your companions will be at the detention area at the bottom of the glacier. Gather what information you need from the Peak 15 personnel to mollify the Council to their breach, and we'll be satisfied."

_It wasn't the Council you arrogant jackass,_ Ashley thought as she bit her tongue to stop herself from taking a shot at the self-absorbed runt.

"We'll try to be quick," Nihlus said as he gestured for the two candidates to follow.

As they rode the elevator down, Ashley kept her eyes on Shepard, who was looking towards the floor and frowning.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," the knight responded, folding her arms so the Hospitaller cross on her chestplate was obscured.

"You don't look like it, and honestly I thought you were going to object."

"I was," she admitted. "But if it's just me objecting… and well, what could I say? That the board should pay? They already knew that, they were just looking to cover themselves and we needed them on board. Still… this could've been a chance to put Noveria down and get rid of this haven for corruption and illegal research. If the other facilities are anything like Peak 15…"

"They know they're on a shit list now," Nihlus said as he turned. "I doubt they'll be as hands off as before, at least until this fades from memory. You can always count on executives to be self-serving; sometimes you just need to prod them from their panicked plan to see the other way of looking at it."

"Maybe," Shepard said as she shrugged. Ashley knew that this wasn't over; just like the issue with her uncle, she was not going to ignore it.

_This is going to come back,_ she thought as the elevator came to a halt.

XXXXXXX

"So, what is it?" Tali asked a few hours later, pointing at the prothean artifact they had recovered. Mordin had joined them in the cargo bay as while they were all stable, he still wanted to perform checks on the new wounds. The salarian professor shook his head as he looked at it.

"Unknown. Prothean obviously, but purpose unknown. Memory device? Key card? Never encountered before. Doctor?" Mordin turned to Liara, who also shook her head, taking the device.

"I can't say I have ever seen anything like this," Liara said, turning the device around to get different views of it. "I don't recognize this particular one, but I have seen something things like this at dig sites, but more streamlined and smaller. Usually broken too, but this one seems to be intact. That's it, though; I do not know how to use it or if it even works. It... seems to be offline. Normally, prothean technology has a glow to it, along the lines traced into it."

"So, what do we do, zap it with some power?" Ashley asked as she removed the armor plating on the back of her hardsuit to start restoring the kinetic barrier system. "Kinda looks like the Beacon we found on Eden Prime, though."

"A lot of prothean tech has that look," Nihlus said. "Regardless, we keep it for now, until we can get it to a secure site for study. We don't have the facilities to perform any in-depth analysis. However, Saren wanted it, so we want it too. Benezia's rambling also revealed that they believe it to contain critical information."

"Believe?" Shepard asked, raising her eyebrow. Shepard had not yet fully removed her armor, still having her right arm encased with the hardened ceramics while her left hand was open as she had removed the glove.

"What they say it contains is not always true. The fact that it was under study shows that they don't know _what_ it contains. Just what they hope or believe it to contain," Nihlus explained.

"Um, we could try something right away," Liara said meekly, everyone staring at her. "It's prothean technology, right? Shepard has shown that she seems to have some ability to control prothean technology, as we saw in the ruins when you rescued me. Why not give it to her?"

"Hmm..." Nihlus muttered, taking the devices and turning it around. "Nothing paid, nothing gained," he eventually said, offering the device to Shepard. Shepard took it in her right hand. The cargo bay was silent save for the quiet humming of the ship.

Ashley's mind flashed back to Eden Prime immediately, being pulled closer towards the glowing alien object before being shoved aside and seeing Shepard floating in the air in pain, but nothing happened. The artifact did nothing.

"Huh, well, that was... anti-climatic," Shepard said, putting the shard into her uncovered left hand. "I kinda expected so-" her speech was cut short when the device flared a blueish green color, the line pattern in it glowing again.

Shepard's eyes rolled up, until few seconds later she fell into ground, the device rolling away.

"_Etel_!" Tali shouted, instantly next to the unconscious knight with an omni-tool active and scanning. Mordin followed her almost as quickly, opening Shepard's left eye.

"Rapid eye movement," Mordin reported as she ran scans with his omni-tool. "Heart beat rapid, but stable, still within safe limits. High brain activity, high amounts of adrenaline being released. Resembles sleeping, but activity unfocused and highly stressful."

The knight's still-armored hand shot up, nearly hitting the salarian. "Suggest sedatives. Move to med-bay immediately, better equipment required."

Tali, Garrus and Kaidan grabbed Shepard, who was twitching with her eye movement visible under the eyelids. The three of them restricted Shepard's movement and carried her into the elevator, with Mordin following behind them.

Inside the cargo bay, silence reigned as Ashley glared at Liara.

"Oh goddess..." Liara said, quiet enough it was almost a squeak as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

XXXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

Author's Notes:

_\- No, the Rachni Queen was not there. We'll get to her eventually: after all, we need the Mu Relay. People have asked for more deviations from the game, and the memory shard provides us a route to begin doing so._

_\- As to not killing Benezia… well, she was really a one-off villain in the actual game with little time to develop. At least now, the option of more encounters and development of some… differences in Saren's plan this time can be explored. Also, more with Liara and Benezia. Always good stuff._

_\- Damping is actually a tech power in ME1, then vanished from the series entirely. Given that Neural Shocks remained, and Damping is basically doing the same to the bio-amp (or in the case of tech, omni-tools), it felt like an appropriate countermeasure to biotics to bring back. Helps even the edge a bit between biotics and non-biotics the way chi blocking counters bending._

_\- The Codex entry for this chapter is part of an overview of husks. Meant to be a primer for what kinds. Mostly deals with the canon husk types with the quarian ones being the exception, but provides some in-universe looks at it._

XXXXXXXX

**Binary Helix Databanks - Peak 15 - Husk Type Overview (Part 1)**

_This is the first part of an overview package of the husks that I was able to assemble on short notice. This consists of all that is currently up-to-date, some of our information on others was outdated or missing, particularly on our rachni subjects. The rest will come once it has been recompiled, but this information is complete, as is the information in the associated files. Please, make sure this information gets into the hands of those who need it. Let our work do something good, for once._

_\- _Forward by Hans Olar to Spectre Nilhus Kryik

Human Husks - Due to how basic they are, no specific code name has been attached to them. However, they do provide excellent building blocks for more advanced types of husks and are the easiest to modify. Not capable of tasks beyond simple brute force. See (BH-HH-001) for details.

Abominations - Human husks which have had their capacitors improved as to serve as a makeshift high-explosive bomb. Other than no longer being suitable to meld into larger husks, there are no other changes of note from basic human husks. See (BH-HH-005) for details.

Scions - A combination of three human husks into one body, fires a cannon using element zero augmented ammunitions. Extremely slow and has poor stability due to lopsided weight. See (BH-HH-009) for details.

Praetorians - Extremely Dangerous, contain in cells equipped with automatic plasma jets! Made from thirty human husks combined into one powerful killing machine with a wide variety of methods to attack. Also decomposes into a nerve gas when destroyed to prevent capture and analysis. See (BH-HH-063) for details.

Marauders - Turian husks and so far the only ones capable of using non-integrated small arms intelligently. Rifles are the most popular choice, with more specialized weapons proving to be outside of their capability. Some subjects able to graft other husks with a primitive, scab-like protection. See (BH-HT-014) for investigation into cause.

Sappers - Contain with Physical Locks Only! Quarian bodies, due to a predominance of cybernetics already, are ideal candidates for the conversion process and are among the quickest bodies to convert to husk form. Omni-tool like cybernetics are included in the design, but it requires additional time in creation to be effective. If not fully developed, the Sapper is no more than a normal human husk with an electric shock. Subjects are capable of using their tools to override security locks and launch omni-tool attacks, though where the program came from has not been identified. See (BH-HQ-008) for details.


	21. Normandy: Post Noveria

All said and done, Ashley realized that she probably should have braced herself better.

"_You told the Executive Board that we didn't care about the treaty?!"_ Sparatus demanded. _"Nihlus, did years of the best military training the Hierarchy offers go to waste?!"_

"_In fairness, Noveria is a thresher in the living room, but with everything going on Noveria feeling uncompliant is something I'd rather not have to deal with," _Tevos said, holding her hand to cover her face.

"The situation needed to be solved quickly. I did so," Nihlus responded with a mere shrug. "we could not afford to be bogged down on petty power politics for much longer, not when we could have caught up with Benezia. Who, I should mention, managed to make at least four Relay jumps by the time we were done with the Noveria executives and is now at large."

"_Even then, it's still going to demand our attention as Noveria is quick to make noise when it feels threatened. Nothing we can't handle, but we have bigger things to deal with than a bunch of corporates who can make supplying our troops difficult," _Tevos groaned. _"Where is Shepard? You said she was unavailable earlier, but what is holding her?"_

"She is in the medbay," Nihlus answered.

"_Was she wounded? And if so, by who?"_ Valern asked.

"By what would be the better question," Ashley cut in as she glanced to Nihlus, who nodded. "We found what looked to be a prothean artifact. We gave it to Shepard since prothean tech just works for her, but it knocked her out the moment it touched her skin."

"It did not respond to her armored hand, though," Nihlus added. "And it did not do anything to me either." He activated his omni-tool and showed a holographic image of the device. "Our resident scientists do not know what it is, but it did react to something in Shepard. The current theory is that it's whatever the Beacon on Eden Prime downloaded into her brain."

"_Certainly possible,"_ Tevos admitted as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. _"Still, I would be careful around prothean technology in the future. Where is it now?"_

"Mordin's lab," Ashley supplied. "Should we take it to some base for study?"

"_No,"_ Valern ordered as he was checking another screen. _"Two days ago, one of the larger universities that studies prothean tech was broken into. The culprits were not caught, but the software used for overriding the locks suggests geth technology. It's better that whatever this is, it remains a moving target."_

"_And if Saren is after it specifically, it may help you with your mission. All good traps need a bait, after all,"_ Sparatus offered as he folded his arms. _"Regardless, finding Saren is your top priority."_

"_Now, we need to prepare for inevitable political headaches you have caused,"_ Tevos said, giving a pointed look to Nihlus. The turian Spectre shrugged as the Council's holograms faded.

"So…" Ashley asked. "Is the Council always like this?"

"Only when you make their lives more difficult than they need to be," he said with a shrug. "It's why they like to be in the dark about things. That way if I need to strangle someone who had a lot of friends, they can genuinely say they were not involved in it. Even when they don't need to have that distance, though, they will hand out a stern talking to when you do something they don't like."

"They only reign you in when you go too far."

"Exactly. We're given the room to mess up because if we get involved, we need that. Now, C-Sec? They're not given that room because if it's bad enough that C-Sec can't do it, Spectres are needed."

"Leviathan Force, Department of Everything Else," Ashley said as she recalled her lessons while getting her officer training between her courses in the Interplanetary Combat Training.

"Not familiar with the terms, but I'll assume it's a human equivalent to splitting between the main troops and the hastatim."

"I wouldn't call 'death commandos' a solution for rebuilding a wrecked nation…"

"They're only there to kill if you try to resist. Otherwise they make sure civilians get to safety." He shrugged as he turned towards one of the chairs in the briefing room and sat down, stretching as he did so. "So, how's working with a Spectre been for you so far?"

Ashley raised her eyebrow in surprise as Nihlus seemed to go from disciplined to causal in an instant. "Well… this isn't exactly what Spectres usually handle, but as far as how we're operating..." She tilted her head as she thought about how to put it. "It really it doesn't seem like anything special. Just being able to ignore the law the few times we need to."

"Well, that's what Spectres are for. And how about you and Shepard? You two seem to be getting along better. You two on a first name basis now and I just didn't notice?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked as she frowned, taking a seat herself.

"I noticed her use your first name while we were clearing that reactor, and I know you do the same with Lieutenant Alenko, and vice versa."

"It's quicker, and we don't need to be formal all the time. Beside, we use Tali's first name because it's easier to say."

He nodded. "Fair enough. Now, I need to set some VIs to work, so you're on your own time."

XXXXXX

"This is getting weird."

"Tell me about it," Kaidan muttered as he settled down in the co-pilot seat as they were preparing to leave Noveria. "I'm starting to wonder if I should have taken that transfer to Arcturus while I had the chance."

"Why?" Joker asked, tilting his head.

Kaidan shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, my dad was military, but running around chasing some ancient mystery with alien artifacts downloading things into the minds of a human who's a descendants from a bunch of people abducted a thousand years ago?"

"To be fair anything sounds terrible when you get rid of all the context."

"That it does," another voice cut in and both turned to see Anderson walking up.

"Captain," Kaidan said as he saluted from his seat.

"At ease," Anderson said as Joker did the same. "How soon can we leave?"

"Just the pre-flight checks," Joker explained. "And I already did the necessary ones, we can leave at any time."

"Good," Anderson said. "Do the cold temperature checks, then let's get out of here. The _Normandy_'s running fine, and I think we need to start flying like a line ship rather than triple checking everything for paranoia's sake."

_I wondered when Anderson would stop treating it like we just got out of drydock,_ Kaidan thought with a faint smirk as he turned back to his console and started checking the warm up cycles for the engines.

"So," Joker continued, "anyone want to place bets on where this is going to end?"

"I still want to know who bet on 'accident with an airlock'," Anderson muttered, shaking his head.

Kaidan couldn't hold it back as he heard the phrase uttered aloud. A laugh quickly turned into a cough as he tried to stifle it.

"Something to admit, Lieutenant?"

_Oh shit he thinks I put that in!_ he realized as he shook his head quickly. "Ah, no sir. I was the one who bet that there'd be a heated argument about this 'Human Situation'."

Both of them looked at Joker, who turned back to the console before turning back again. "Ow," he muttered. "Turned to fast… and ah, no, for once it wasn't me this time. You'd have to ask Adams since he brokered the pool. Anyways, I voted for swordfighting."

"You know she doesn't use that sword in actual combat, right?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah, but admit it, you'd think it'd look cool if she stabbed a Collector in the face with it."

"Fair point," he admitted as he tried to imagine it. "But this isn't science fantasy and cold steel doesn't cut it anymore."

Anderson stepped forward and put a hand on the chair. "Was that intentional, Lieutenant?"

"Huh? Oh, uh… no, not really. Though we have been getting a lot of use out of omni-blades and the like; those husks just love close quarters."

Joker nodded. "And that's why I stay on the ship. It's bad enough dodging grenades and getting planted into the mud, but having guys literally trying to rip you apart limb from limb? No thank you, I'll stay in the cockpit thank you very much."

Kaidan blinked, knowing that it was totally innocuous, but at the same time… he _did_ provide most of Tali's ammunition on Solcrum.

His console blinked and Kaidan glanced at it, nodding to himself as he read the check from engineering. "Temperature's good, captain. We can take off at any time."

"Good. Get us into orbit and towards the mass relay. If you don't get a destination, we'll head for the Exodus Cluster and wait for another lead."

"Aye aye," Joker answered.

XXXXX

Ashley was heading for the sleeping pods when a loud scream stopped her, followed by a startled yelp from Chakwas. She changed her route and ran to the medbay. Inside Shepard had woken up, but was still thrashing in her bed, screaming words that made no sense to Ashley.

"CALM DOWN!" Chakwas shouted, trying to restrain Shepard while Mordin was applying sedatives, or at least trying to. He eventually succeeded after Wrex rose from his bed and (rather unceremoniously) leaned on top of Shepard. Finally, Shepard seemed to calm down, though she still had a panicked look in her eyes. Wrex stood up and climbed back into his bed.

"And I'm the one with hole in his stomach..." the krogan muttered under his breath as he got back on the gurney, which groaned under his weight.

"Where... but..." Shepard asked, finally speaking a language that the translator knew.

"You're onboard the _Normandy_, and you're in the med bay," Chakwas explained slowly. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I... I am not sure..." Shepard responded, holding her head. "I have the worst headache ever, though. Worse than Eden Prime."

"You touched the prothean... thingy and then you got knocked out," Ashley explained, walking over to the confused knight. The other members of the ground team, who had likely been heading to the sleeping pods as well, had walked in to see what the commotion was.

"I... I think I remember now..." Shepard muttered, still holding her head. "But... it doesn't make sense. I _feel_ as if the last thing I did was set up defense grid on _Albvinc_ to... I don't know."

"Interesting," Mordin muttered. "Do you remember what this Albvinc was?"

"A colony, near... uh..." Shepard stopped, seemingly trying to gather her memories. "It's... Uh... I can't remember. I can't even remember _what_ sort of colony it was. Just that, from the name, the word 'colony' springs to my mind. I don't even _think_ I ever was on a location named such, since I would remember having to deal with ground-based defense systems."

"So, you've got a memory that you shouldn't have?" Ashley asked as she was stunned that it sounded completely believable to her. "That's it, you're not touching any more prothean devices until eggheads know what they are."

Shepard nodded as she settled back down onto the pillow. "Agreed. Did Doctor Chakwas take a brain scan?"

"As far as I can tell there's nothing foreign in there," the doctor answered as most of the ground team left the medbay as the show was over. "Whatever it is, it just added memories, no parasites or adjusted physiology or anything of the like. Still, I would advise you lie down for a while and see what happens."

"Interesting concept however," Mordin nodded to himself. "Direct implantation of memories, without altering the brain structure or chemistry. Fascinating implications. More research needed."

"How about you get someone else for that one?" Shepard snorted back. "I think I have enough foreign images and memories stuffed into me for one lifetime.".

"Glad to see you're recovering," Tali said as she walked into the medbay and stood at the end of the gurney. "We were worried when you passed out suddenly."

"At least it didn't have a lightshow," Ashley added. "Back on Eden Prime, the big beacon lifted her and surrounded her with some weird green glow."

"Still, strange method. Why implant memories?" Mordin muttered, more to himself than the others. "Why not present readable text out? Voice, video? Different communication method? Similar to asari mind meld? Possibilities endless. Unable to know without more data. Little known about prothean physiology."

"Doctor, you are rambling again," Chakwas said, seemingly waking Mordin from his muttering.

"Ah, yes. Of course. Need to remain focused. Will study matter at better time. For now, focus on healing patient," Mordin nodded, proceeding to perform several tests on Shepard that Ashley had no idea what they checked for. Seeing that the situation was under control and Shepard was under no direct threat or was a danger, she left the room to finally get some sleep.

XXXXXX

**The Next Morning**

"Well this is getting weirder and weirder."

"No kidding," Ashley retorted as she and Kaidan were sitting in the mess hall across from each other. "You know, when I found out I was a Spectre candidate I kinda figured I'd be doing a lot more sneaking around rather than chasing visions and a rogue Spectre who's also after it."

The biotic shrugged as he was twirling his fork. "Well, what about the name that Shepard dropped? Liara taking a look into that?"

"She's going through her research, though it probably won't amount to much. For all we know it's just some random colony that has no bearing on what's happening." Ashley took another bite from her rations before continuing. "I'll admit, I'm curious as to how the protheans waged their wars, but unless that helps us now it's not important."

Kaidan nodded. "So… think you'd be able to handle it?"

She paused, frowning. "I'm sorry?"

"If Shepard didn't grab you, do you think you'd be able to handle what she's seeing? I mean, Liara did mention that beacons tend to try people's minds… and there was that guy on Eden Prime; Manuel, I think?"

"I remember. He was nuts… you don't think that he actually saw it, did you?"

The mess hall fell silent as Ashley activated her omni-tool. "Joker, you know where Nihlus is right now?"

"_One second,"_ the pilot answered. _"He's in the briefing room."_

"Thanks," Ashley said as she minimized it and pushed herself to her feet. "I don't think this is something we should leave waiting."

Kaidan grabbed one of the nutrition bars and followed her as they made their way up the stairs and through the CIC. Pressley turned to look at them as they entered and passed by, but went back to his console as they walked through.

"Williams?" Nihlus asked as they entered. "Something the matter?"

"No, but we might have something," she answered. "Or rather, he hit it."

"Manuel, from Eden Prime." Kaidan explained.

"Who?"

"One of the archeologists on Eden Prime," Ashley explained. "We found him when we found the first set of dragon's teeth that had husks. The way he raved, about how destruction was coming? Well, Liara said that the beacon would normally break someone."

"And we were never told what caused Manuel to break," Kaidan continued. "For all we know, he was exposed to the beacon too but couldn't process it like Shepard could."

Nihlus ran his fingers along the two mandibles along his chin before nodding. "Well, it couldn't hurt to call him and get a reference. I trust you two can take care of it?"

Ashley nodded. "We will."

"Good. The VI is still datamining, but I'll inform you when we have a solid lead." He nodded to the two, and they left.

"So," Kaidan said after he took a bite out of his bar, "to go back to my question… you think you'd be able to handle the visions?" 

"I hope so," she answered. "And hopefully I'll never have to find out. I've seen enough movies of alien artifacts messing with people's brains to know that it's a bad idea. And now I'm living one that makes why abundantly clear."

"Well, I'm sure you could've handled it," he said as they sat back down to finish their breakfast. "You're a strong woman, Commander."

She smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

XXXXX

"T'Soni?"

"Wrex?" Liara asked as she quickly switched which tab she had open in Mordin's lab. "Is something wrong?"

"What were you looking at?" the krogan asked as Liara found herself fighting down a sense of dread that came with being talked to by a two meter wrecking ball of physical violence, especially one with biotics. Mordin looked towards them for a moment before going back to his console that was scanning a turian husk's head.

"Just trying to follow up on what Shepard said she saw from the shard," Liara explained weakly.

"I meant the one before you switched tabs," the krogan growled.

_No point arguing,_ she decided as she exhaled and brought up the image of herself and her mother when she had graduated secondary school. "It's… it's just hard to think about," she admitted. "She… she was… is my mother. And now I have to kill her? For the good of the galaxy, I know, but… why me?"

"Sometimes parents don't give you the option," Wrex said as he reached for something on his belt and unhooked it, putting it on the table next to Liara. A sheathed and rather large combat knife - to Liara it was more of a short sword.

"What's this for?" she asked as she wondered exactly what the krogan was getting at.

"For you? Nothing. But I used that knife on my own father when he tried to kill me. You ever wonder what drives the krogan to leave Tuchanka and never look back?"

"The genophage?" she suggested. Mordin looked at them at the reference, but quickly busied himself again with his console.

"No, though I suppose it didn't help. No, we've just lost hope and cling to the ways that got us hit with it in the first place because there is no other way. It was my father that taught me that."

Liara curled her lip, completely unsure of what Wrex was getting at. "Can I ask how, or uh…. is it a personal thing?"

"It is, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a point to make. Look, he attacked me in the Hollows because we disagreed about how to go forward. I don't know how much your education looked at the krogan, but I imagine it'd be like taking a piss on a statue of that goddess you asari always talk about."

"Technically the Athame doctrines are a very small holdout…" she started before realizing it was a tangent. "Nevermind, but yes I think I understand."

"Good. Well, me and my followers wanted to hold off. At least spend a few generations rebuilding. My father wanted to do one more fight to win it. Well, it turns out he was either going to accept my service or kill me. I didn't want any part of a futile fight with the turians, there was no point. So his men attacked and I had to kill my father to escape. I plunged that blade in his stomach and tore apart his organs, redundant ones included."

"And you did it because that was what the krogan needed?"

The old battlemaster shook his head. "No, though in hindsight it couldn't have hurt them. But it made me realize that family… it's supposed to be important, but sometimes water is thicker than blood. And you need to be prepared for that when something bad enough happens that being family no longer offers any hope."

"So what, I need to kill my mother?"

"If it goes that far? Yes," Wrex rumbled as he took the knife back. "Whatever Saren's after, he can't get it. And if your mother is trying to help him find it, you may have to kill her just to stop it from getting into his hands."

"But she tore me apart!" Liara protested.

"Then learn from what happened. You're already training with Alenko. Keep doing that and learn from the fights we're getting into. But don't fight her unless you're as ready as you can be for killing her. You can't afford to have any doubts when fighting her."

"I… I understand. Thank you… I think."

"Don't mention it," he said as he looked at the image. "Yellow? Huh. There always is more than meets the eye."

Liara was not sure how to take the comment about what her mother was wearing as the krogan took another step forward.

"So… who was she?" the krogan asked. "Before she became a maniac, what was she like?"

"Er… well, she did like yellow. She was always a bit distant, though. Involved in trying to solve problems, being a diplomat. And she never told me who my father was… all I knew was that it was another asari."

XXXXXX

"Hey, you okay now?" Ashley asked Shepard as she walked into the med-bay. Shepard nodded, closing a datapad she had been reading.

"Been better, but I have also been worse," Shepard responded, setting down the datapad.

"So you're reading?"

"Yeah, not much to do until our doctors let me out. Been catching up on the _Biography of Sir Remil_, a famous member of the Hospitallers," Shepard answered. Ashley nodded, not really knowing anything about the person.

"So um..." she began, "I wanted to talk to you in private and since nobody else is here right now..."

"Hm? Sure, I have time. What's on your mind?"

"How are you doing? And I don't mean physically. I mean about this whole deal with Noveria and your uncle," Ashley asked, deciding to get straight to the point. Shepard let out a sigh and sunk little bit deeper into the bed.

"I am no stranger to letting injustice go," the knight said, shaking her head. "It's just... the first time in ages I feel like I am powerless. I mean, yes, sometimes pirates and slavers get away, or we arrive too late to stop them."

"But you always a chance to go at them again. Something, at least," Ashley supplied.

"Yes. My uncle is clearly corrupt, but I can't do anything about it. It's infuriating!" Shepard hit the mattress with her fist, causing a small deformation appear before the material returned to it's former shape. "How can I just sit by and let something like this go by!?" 

"For the greater good, I guess," the marine nodded, taken aback by the outburst. "You weigh the good and bad and try to get more good than bad."

"It should not mean the bad goes unpunished," Shepard muttered, but relaxed. "I became a knight not just because my family situation, but also to fight evil. I want to do it with my own hands, to actually make the difference." Ashley smirked at the comment.

"Well, aren't you a paragon of virtue," she chuckled as some of her first reactions to seeing her walk into Anderson's quarters came back.

"I just have more faith in my morals than others," Shepard humped.

"True," Ashley conceded. "Doesn't still mean we should see the world as black and white. You can't always solve everything by acting like a knight in a shining armor," she stopped for a moment. "Well, you are a knight, but your armor does not shine. Whatever, you know what I mean."

"I guess so," Shepard nodded. "Doesn't mean I will like the deal we made with those corporate people, but I will..." Shepard stopped, swallowing before continuing, "tolerate it."

"I guess it's a start. You'll feel better after busting few bad guys next time we're in a fight."

"Maybe. Still… we can't tolerate it too far. When we die and have to answer for what we've done, we can't just say that 'virtue was not convenient at the time'. We have to draw a line somewhere… and it should be sooner, not later."

"I'm not saying we need to let everything go," Ashley warned. "Just… I mean, all those ideas of helping everyone, bringing people together to deal with the common threat… it's great for the old poems or movies. Doesn't work so well in reality since sometimes you just have some really slimy allies. I mean, if Wrex wasn't with us when we went for Fist we probably never would have considered bringing him along."

"True, he was a thug for hire for a long time." Shepard said as she shut down the data pad and put it to the side. "And he knows what's wrong with the krogan. That's better than most."

"Bit of a shame really," she said and Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"The genophage. I know the krogan were threatening the galaxy, but it's still sad to see a whole species on its way to extinction."

The knight snorted. "They didn't give the turians a choice. The genophage was a last resort that even the salarians didn't want to use. The krogan pushed the turians into using it by dropping asteroids on Palaven."

"I'm not saying they didn't need to use it, war changes the definition of acceptable," she immediately pointed out. "I'm just saying that a sterility plague and then not trying to fix the problem…"

"Stop right there," Shepard cut in sharply, interrupting her. "This is something my tutors were always strict about: the genophage is _not_ a sterility plague. It just reduces the birthrate to something reasonable when you aren't losing population to wildlife on an hourly basis."

"Reasonable?" Ashley asked in surprise. "I wouldn't call still being in decline 'reasonable'. There's need of the galaxy, and then there's punishing future generations for what their parents did."

"If those future generations keep repeating the mistakes of the past?" Shepard pointed out. "Let's be clear about this: the krogan are _not_ innocent victims. The genophage did not happen out of nowhere, it was the result of the Citadel facing conquest or deploying the genophage. And it's not the genophage that is killing the krogan anyways."

"Oh, then what is?" Ashley asked, curious to hear what was Shepard's view was.

"Krogan are what's killing them. I have traveled wide and far and I have yet to meet a krogan who is _not_ a warrior. Have you ever seen a krogan preacher? Teacher, politician, scientist? Hell, even a nurse!?"

"I... huh..." Ashley stopped. "Can't say I ever have. I mean, I'm not as travelled as you are, but I haven't even heard of one now that I'm thinking about it."

"That's because there aren't any," Shepard nodded. "Krogan keep leaving their worlds to go fight in meaningless battles. Mercenaries for hire. Fighting for all the wrong reasons, like money," Shepard practically spat out the last word. "I have lost too many comrades, friends, to a krogan looking to make a few credits working for pirates," Shepard's sight seemed to lose focus, as she seemed to delve into memories.

"I see..." Ashley said, not really sure what to say. It was easy to forget that Shepard had actually been in more campaigns than Alliance military had held so far. Active service, not just being a member of her order. "So, if the goal was not to kill off the krogan, then why let them die off?"

"Because the krogan refuse to change," Shepard said, shaking herself. "Like I said, too many of them go off and die in pointless fights. They keep trying to re-create the horde rather than reform their culture. The best way for the krogan to beat the genophage is not by curing it, but by overcoming its limitations."

"Really?" 

"Yes, if the krogan can fix their own issues and show that they can be productive members of galactic society... then they won't need to have genophage lifted. They will have defeated it by themselves. And they have been offered ways to do just that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Imperial missionaries have been trying to preach on Tuchanka. It usually ends badly, but it's an outstretched hand. You can't save those who don't want to be saved. The krogan are being shown an alternative way, and they're shoving it away."

"You sure you just didn't sweeten the deal enough, I dunno, maybe with some matchlocks?" Ashley suggested as she had to fight rolling her eyes.

"Matchlocks?" the knight asked as if she had never heard the term before.

_Of course she hasn't,_ Ashley realized,_ Her people never went through that period of time, skipping straight to automatic rifles._

"Early guns," she explained. "Sorry, flashed back to one of my courses during my officer training about cross-cultural contact and how that affects the development of tactics. Anyways, so you're saying that the krogan should just give up their own culture and mold in with the Empire?"

"Exactly. The Faith of Abraham would welcome them and could curb some of their excesses. The krogan don't have to die off if they realize that their way of living is only causing suffering - for them and for others."

"So, cultural genocide?" she asked, surprised that Shepard even considered that.

"It's not genocide if the krogan are choosing to move away from this rut they're in. The choice is theirs, and only theirs, to make. They can choose to follow the Faith, seek something else... or condemn themselves to death." Shepard nodded to herself. "Ultimately, faith needs to come from the person, not from the outside. It can't be forced."

"Well, can't argue against that last point, but I still don't like the idea of the krogan having to get rid of what made them great _before_ they went nuts on the Citadel. You know, what made them heroes fighting the rachni. What would you think if Citadel had made Empire forget its past culture?"

"We did," Shepard responded. "Partially. You do not find, what were they... Arabs, Germans, Franks, Turks, and whatever the mix had. Those old cultures are gone in the Empire, we reformed. We took what was worth saving, kept it, and discarded the things that held us back. We had something to salvage. If the krogan have anything to salvage, they are keeping it well hidden."

"Or you can't recognize it," Ashley shook her head as she realized the knight was almost certainly oversimplifying the matter. "Well, at least can agree that they don't have to fully abandon their ways, correct?"

"If there is something worth to save, yes," Shepard nodded, before her voice took harsher tone. "But what I have seen of it, there isn't."

_I wonder if her experiences colors her world view,_ Ashley mused as the med bay fell silent. _She's mostly seen the mercenaries, and the loss of friends must really weigh on her._

Before either could speak up again, the lab door opened and Mordin walked by drinking something that had steam rising from it. "Shepard. Williams." the salarian said with a nod as he walked by and out to the mess hall.

"Well, I should leave you to your rest. Maybe forward some links to good old Earth literature next time I'm here. Pretty sure you haven't read that yet," Ashley said as she stood up. Shepard nodded in response.

"Could be interesting change of pace for me."

Ashley nodded. "Also… I was in contact with that doctor we met on Eden Prime before I came down here. Doctor Warren."

Shepard frowned. "I vaguely remember her. Her and that poor man driven mad. Man… something," she admitted after a pause.

"Manuel," Ashley finished. "Well, remember what he was talking about? Imminent doom, seeing no escape, a _vision_ of the future?"

Shepard's eyes went wide. "Wait, are you' telling me I wasn't the only one that beacon zapped?"

Ashley shook her head. "You weren't." She paused for a moment and sighed. "Manuel was also murdered a week ago. A sniper with phasic rounds… geth weaponry."

"So that avenue's closed… this doesn't mean that I need to cower in here while you're fighting Saren, right?"

"Nah, we're not strapping you in here or anything. But still, something to keep in mind. Saren might prioritize you more as a target and he knows you were zapped too."

Shepard nodded. "I'll be careful, but I'm a Knight Hospitaller. We only stay back when that's our role in the battle plan."

XXXXXX

"This just gets better and better."

"Tell me about it," Tali muttered as she and Garrus were fine tuning their omni-tools and optimizing the attack programs on them. The engineering bay was empty, so they had time to talk freely. "If we find any more prothean relics Etel's brain is going to be a server hub."

The turian shrugged. "Well, there's worse ways to fight for what you believe in. Plus, I bet that Liara's wishing it could have been her with that affinity for prothean tech."

"Well she actually studied them. Etel would rather be on the front line shoving an omni-blade into a slaver's eyes than sitting in some lab trying to share what she's getting loaded into her."

"To be fair, would you like to sit around doing just that?"

Tali paused, glancing away from the results of the last test as she considered it. "Well as long as I can still do work at an engine lab or something I'd probably be fine."

"I have to say, it is amusing to see the humans working together… oh come on!" Garrus complained as his diagnostics program was reporting multiple errors.

"What's wrong?" Tali asked as she minimized her omni-tool's tabs.

"I patched a piece of inferior code and now I've got a bunch of errors."

"I know the feeling. So, you were saying about humans working together?"

"Right," the turian said as he continued to sort out his omni-tool. "Well, for all the bluster both sides put out it's amusing to see that they drop it the moment there's something real knocking at the door. How did that human saying go... 'it unites both a christian and a muslim, when batarian kills both'?"

"You could say the same thing about the rest of the Citadel," she snorted. "I mean, how often do the asari and salarians argue about implementing new tech that's fresh from the labs? Besides, the Alliance and Empire have much more serious issues."

"Maybe," he admitted as he shrugged. "Well, at least this might convince them to sort it out. That, and the media's darling 'sisters'," he air quoted the last term.

Tali laughed, putting a hand over her visor. "If I ever go back to New Syracusae I'm going to find the guy who came up with that and buy him a drink. That video is spreading like wildfire."

"Quite," Garrus chuckled. "It's been getting even better since the so-called serious news channels picked it up. You'd be forgiven if it's mistaken for movie advertising."

"Well, there's an idea..." Tali muttered, cupping the chin of her helmet. "Maybe we _should_ write a script, changes names and places and sell it? Could be good money."

"And violation of the non-disclosure agreement you all signed," a voice cut in behind them. Both of them looked and saw Nihlus looking over them as he stepped off of the elevator. "Besides, as a Spectre I think I have first call on any profit. I need to eat somehow."

The garage fell silent for a few moments before Nihlus walked to them and handed a datapad to Garrus. "I think you might find this interesting, and something to consider pursuing if we have the time. Take a look, then meet me in the briefing room, we've got something."

"Thanks, I think…" Garrus said as he looked at the datapad, tilting his head as Nihlus walked away.

"What is it?" Tali asked as Nihlus took the elevator back up.

"It's about a man named Doctor Heart, a salarian doctor who set himself up in the Herschel System… well rip off my fringe, it's that bastard Saleon!"

"Who?"

"Mad salarian scientist. Grew organs inside of people, and if they were good cut them out, otherwise left them in. I'm not sure if the stains ever faded from the interrogation room when we talked to one of his employees so 'rewarded'," the turian explained as he scanned the data slate into his omni-tool. "He hijacked a ship with a bunch of his test subjects and got away because the CDF wouldn't even try to knock out the engines."

Tali tilted her head. "You do realize that engines don't explode in neat little pieces, right? Blowing up the engines might bring a shuttle down, but it might spark the reactor and blow the whole thing up if you don't shoot out the connection _first_, and that's _inside_ the ship!"

"Maybe, but you never saw the stuff he did. I never forget the ones that got away…" Garrus paused as the upload finished. "Anyway, we're late for a briefing."

XXXXXX

"Alright people, the datamining VI just gave me something and we received some important transmissions as well," Nihlus explained after everyone in the ground team had assembled in the briefing room.

"Why do I feel this is going to be a 'good news, bad news and worse news' type of update?" Garrus muttered, only to receive a nod from Nihlus.

"It is. Good news is that we have our next target. Saren was sighted on the colony of Feros two days ago. Local defense forces managed to transmit an image to us," Nihlus said, bringing up an image on the briefing screen that showed Saren walking through a ruined city under escort by various geth.

"Feros?" Shepard asked as the location and time appeared on screen. "That's not good. It's an Imperial world, frontier but not a border world. But it's near systems with relays linking to the Batarian Hegemony, not to geth space. And it's also loaded with old prothean ruins, but nothing major has been discovered for decades."

"Indeed," Nihlus nodded. "Two weeks ago, a concentrated geth offensive launched through the Damocles Gulf to hit the routes leading to Feros," the display changed to a galaxy map. "Battlegroup Titan intercepted and stalled them. Unfortunately, whatever route the geth had used to bypass the defenses had other routes. Sudden attacks through Gemini Sigma forced the Battlegroup Titan to retreat or be completely destroyed."

"So what's the 'worse news' part?" Ashley asked as she had a feeling that they had the bad news part. "Do the geth also control Feros now?"

"The worse part is, as I said, that Battlegroup Titan had to retreat," Nihlus repeated. "Battlegroup Fury is currently rallying to relieve them, with two other flotillas being moved into the operation from pirate suppression, but it'll take time."

"And we don't have time to wait for them to retake the planet," Ashley nodded, understanding what Nihlus meant. "We need to get to Feros, but we won't have any support. So not only do we need to investigate, we need to do so while dodging enemy fire."

"This won't be like New Syracusae, where it was just a matter of holding until relieved," Shepard nodded in agreement. "We need to find what exactly Saren was looking for and do it before the geth erase the evidence."

"Assuming they haven't already," Wrex grumbled.

"I doubt it. They would have pulled out already if that was the case," Nihlus shook his head. "As it stands, the geth seem to focused around the capital area of the planet," he added bringing up image of Feros and latest know geth concentrations. "So it is likely that whatever Saren did, whatever he was after, it's still there. Perhaps the PDF managed to dislodge his troops before they finished whatever they were doing."

"Let's hope so," Ashley said. "Though why not just bombard the place from orbit? They have orbital superiority and looking at those images any strategic kinetic barriers are down."

"Something they still need intact, or they can't get to it from orbit?" Shepard suggested. "I mean, the rachni could not be eradicated simply by bombing them, the hives went too deep."

"It's a good start to erasing something," Wrex grumbled. "The krogan tactic for destroying something is to bomb it, then sweep through to make sure it was bombed properly and get rid of any survivors. Saren isn't a fool, if he was just going to destroy evidence he would have no reason not to use orbital fire."

"Saren studied the krogan thoroughly, and he is open to krogan tactics and supposedly has krogan troops on Feros," Nihlus added.

"So uh, you two know what he's looking for?" Jenkins asked as he looked at Shepard and Tali.

"No idea," the Knight admitted. "It's most definitely related to Protheans, but your guess is good as mine."

"Prothean artifact does not automatically mean a doomsday device," Liara commented, crossing her arms. "They can be mundane items, like cleaning tools or other household items," Liara sighed, "yet no art or written works..."

"Even then, the capital area has been scourged clean for a long time, so it is unlikely that Saren has found something new," Tali continued as the door opened. Nihlus nodded towards Mordin as the salarian walked to the front.

"Now while we're all here, our good doctor here has something for us," he gestured towards Mordin.

"Quite," Mordin responded. "Counter-measure against the Seeker swarms. Prototype, but simulations report success. Need field testing. Feros ideal for Seeker swarms, good place to test."

"Nice," Kaidan said as he nodded to Jenkins. "No more need for the bubbles. So, how does it work?"

"Emulate Collector IFF. Confuse swarm, make them ignore user. Combine with electronic counter-measures, makes user 'invisible' to the swarm. Won't work against larger concentrations. Suggest avoiding if possible."

"Do you have enough for everyone?" Nihlus asked.

The salarian shook his head. "Three for now. Should have two more when we arrive," the salarian doctor responded.

"We'll make due with what we can get."

"Five might be enough, actually," Jenkins cut in. "I mean, the ones who need protection are the Lieutenant-Commander, myself, Tali, Garrus, and you, Nihlus. The others are biotics."

"Perhaps, but we also need to ask who we need to be at full strength," Nihlus warned. "When we used that bubble, Shepard and Alenko were unable to defend themselves and were extremely vulnerable."

"I'll go without," Ashley said as she considered their options. "I don't like the idea of being frozen, but if the biotics have to focus on defending themselves from the swarms they'll be a lot weaker."

"You two are going to get one for each, that is an order," Nihlus said, turning to Ashley and Shepard. "I am not losing Spectre candidates to something simple as Seekers," Nihlus paused for a moment, looking over the two. "Yes, you are still candidates. That never ended."

"Oh. Right," Ashley said, resisting urge to look away. She had forgotten they were being evaluated, not just hunting down a rogue Spectre.

"I will also take one, since I will be leading any charge into anything loaded with Seekers. So two more people need to be chosen," Nihlus returned to the team. Everyone kept looking at each others, until Tali raised her hand.

"Um, I think I might be able to survive. I've got enough layers to keep passing germs out, so I think I might be able to handle a few Seekers," the young quarian said. Nihlus nodded, offering no complaints. Kaidan was next to raise his hand.

"Sir, I think Liara should be given one," he said.

"Please explain," Nihlus gestured him to continue. Kaidan nodded in response.

"She is the least experienced combatant in the team. She needs to be able to focus on defending herself rather than worrying about Seekers. The rest of us, including Tali, can both fight and take care of ourselves."

"Agreed," Wrex rumbled. "Even if rest of us get immobilized, she can use her barrier to get us out."

"Very well. Doctor T'Soni will be getting one then. Who shall get the last one?"

"I think I might need one," Garrus said, leaning forward. "I'm our designated sniper and unless one of the biotics come with me as a spotter - which we've never employed - I'll be alone and may not have my flank covered."

"So you need to be able to bug out if the enemy comes for you," Ashley nodded. "Having Seekers grab you without us even knowing it would really make that difficult."

"Quite," Shepard agreed.

"Good. We now have our test subjects for this Seeker repellant," Nihlus said, crossing his hands behind his back. "We will take a direct course to Feros. Once we enter the system, we will engage the stealth drive, drop as close as possible to the last known location of Saren, and move from there. _Normandy_ will conduct hit-and-run strikes, disturbing enemy formations and providing close air support. Any questions?"

The room remained silent.

"Dismissed. Be ready to move once we're in the system."

XXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

Author's Notes:

_\- A breather between Noveria and Feros to get this rolling along, but also a chance to spend some time with what they found on Noveria and to better lead into Feros. Not much to comment on from an author's point of view, though._

_\- With the genophage argument we'd like to make one thing clear: its arguments made by the characters, not the authors. We didn't write it to make an authorial statement on the morality of the genophage one way or the other. It just was too good of a topic to not use to highlight some quirks in both of them._

\- _The Codex entry here is for Feros as lead in to what's going on. A bit bigger than in canon, if only due to having been settled far earlier._

**Codex: Planets - Attican Beta - Theseus System - Feros**

**Colonial Information:**

Affiliation: Star Empire

Species - Human

Capital - Feran

Colony Founded - 2322 GS (1922 CE)

Population - 500,000

A habitable world in the Attican Beta cluster, Feros is known primarily for being covered in prothean ruins - two thirds of the planet bear the remains of what was once a Prothean megalopolis. However over the millennia the ruins were picked clean by both looters and scientists and as a result it was often passed over for colonization. Although every habitable world is worthwhile, the remains of the of the megalopolis limited how much available farmland there was and the only remaining source of water was the poles - still being tapped into by the remains of prothean aqueducts. The buildings still stand but their stability is highly questionable, and much of the ground level of each building is cluttered with twelve meter deep debris and the air is often choked with dust.

However the Star Empire of Jerusalem went through the effort to colonize in the aftermath of the Batarian Crusade since it's location was an ideal buffer against the batarians. Using outposts set up on the known stable skyscrapers during the war, the populace grew from families of the outpost garrison settling down. With the bases quickly becoming more than military positions, the colony was formally founded in 2322 GS (1922 CE) with a new capital named after the first explorer who set foot on the planet. The new colony's population has proven very capable in repurposing the megalopolis to their needs and has been making slow but steady headway in reclaiming it. Although it's doubted that the Empire will ever reclaim the whole city, the effort has allowed it to solidify its presence on the intergalactic stage.

Feros primarily acts as a science facility, an archeological effort to find prothean relics, and an aeronautics facility. Although the megalopolis is mostly uninhabited, it provides the rare 'safe' location for shuttle and fighter pilots to train in urban flight as it has all the property dangers of flying in a city, but without as many people who could be hurt by mishaps. The use of the prothean megapolis as such is a source of tension between the Star Empire and the Illuminated Primacy: the hanar are concerned about the 'profane usage' of the Enkindlers' monuments and the fact that their reclamation often adds Imperial architecture to it. The Council has remained mute on the matter other than the fact that the world is under Imperial control by legal application.


	22. Priority: Feros

"_Stand by… guns guns guns!"_ Joker shouted and Etel could feel the force of the ship's cannons blasting the ground. The garage bay door opened and she could see the impact of the _Normandy's_ guns - a pair of geth Colossi blown to pieces and their landing zone cleared. It was a skyway, a massive bridge that looked to be at least a kilometer in the air, and the two large 'lanes' of the bridge were split by a half-pipe that she wasn't sure of the purpose for.

The Mako released and launched towards the lower side, bouncing as it hit the ground and Williams immediately brought the turret to face the nearest geth target - an entrenched mortar that was shelling the tall skyscraper ahead. One shot from the 155mm cannon blew the entire position apart and machine gun fire was more than enough for the infantry scrambling to respond.

"_Anderson to ground team. We'll lay low as long as we can, but if you take too long we may need to pull out," _Anderson's voice came from the comms._ "If you are not ready to extraction by then, we have to leave you."_

"This is ground team, understood. We will be ready," Nihlus responded.

"Krogan with a rocket launcher, eleven o'clock!" Jenkins shouted and Williams turned to fire, shaking the whole vehicle briefly.

"_Alliance vehicle, can you hear me - Alliance vehicle respond!"_

Alenko answered. "Alliance vehicle; who is this?"

"_Sergeant-at-Arms Lethis; you coming towards us or heading out?"_

"Towards you," Nihlus cut in as he made his way to the front. "This is Spectre Nihlus Kryik; we're coming in up your front. Can you open the gate?"

"_Yes, we'll lay down suppressive fire. Leave some of your own as well, we need every shot we can get."_

"Williams?"

"Already on it," Williams answered as she shifted fire, focusing more on distracting the geth and making them worry about the Mako than they were the colonists ahead. One bouncy ride and a rocket to the back right wheel later, they entered a gate that sealed behind them and dismounted. A group of militia led them up to the colony itself. After a short walk to the center of the colony and inside what appeared to be the administration center, the militia leader stopped them.

"My Lord, we have visitors," the leader said to a man who was slightly better armored than anyone else in the settlement. His brown hair and beard was kept extremely short, though it seemed to have been left to grow out and he had more than a few wrinkles on his face despite otherwise looking too young to have them. The man merely nodded as he looked at the soldier, and their guides took that as a sign to leave.

"Baron Gavin Archer, Lord of Vartan's Landing. Pleasure to meet you," he said turning to them. He then nodded to Etel. "Sir Knight."

"Baron," Etel responded, dropping her head slightly more as per protocol.

"So, who are you? I recognize the Alliance crest on some of you, but most of you don't look like Alliance forces," Archer asked, gesturing them to follow, leading them into a small hut.

"Spectre Nihlus Kryik, here to investigate a rogue Spectre, and poke the geth where we can," Nihlus explained, gesturing for Garrus, Wrex, Jenkins and Tali to stay outside. "What's the situation?"

"Bad," Archer responded as Kaidan closed the door behind him, sitting down and opening some files on his computer. "We're under siege, as you might have guessed. The main PDF command posts got bombed in the first strike, but from what I heard they were already empty. No idea what happened to the Duke, though," Archer enlarged several pictures so everyone could see them, showing a map of the outlying area with different colorings and some images from different parts of the battle.

"Hmm..." Nihlus muttered as he looked over the map. "Looks like this area is their main focus."

"And we don't know why. This was the last update we got from Damar Outpost before they fell silent," Archer highlighted a point on the map. "Fifth and Third battalions went underground six hours ago," two symbols lit up, "and the Second lost all cohesion four hours ago. No idea what the rest of PDF is doing or what happened to the Duke, communication beyond this tower has been scrambled."

As Archer explained and highlighted military units and outposts, Etel noted that most of the units had been marked as understrength platoons. Even those had either been surrounded or were otherwise isolated, with a few larger units under siege.

"I see..." Nihlus said. "Has the enemy deployed Seekers?"

"The bug swarms?" Archer asked, receiving a nod in return. "We heard some reports, but none here. Could be just a matter of time though," he shook his head. "Right now, I'm more worried about a geth assault that's been gathering. The troops you hit were meant to contain us while they shifted the troops around, and I've only got few PDF troops with me. Most of my troops are militia."

"Where are they coming from?" Etel asked.

"Primarily the way you came in," Archer changed the display to show the tower, on top of which the colony was located. "Once inside it's too small for vehicles, but it's impossible to barricade once you're past that."

"And they don't need vehicles, just need to get in and silence the AA," another soldier added as he walked in. He bowed to Archer and Etel who were standing close to each other, and followed with a quick salute to the others. "Sergeant-at-Arms Lethis," he added as Williams was giving him an odd look, but once she heard the name she nodded. 

"They joined us two days ago, after the geth bombed their positions and the unit routed," Archer explained. "He's been organizing a lot of the defense since he's the most experienced soldier we have. How does it look at our front?" 

"Five professional soldiers and handful of militia against an entire geth army with krogan?" the sergeant asked, before shaking his head. "Not good. We're also starting to run out of the stuff you can't just make with omni-gel like grenades, and our machine guns are still getting fixed."

The baron sighed, his stance deflating. "I was afraid of that. Spectre Nihlus, Sir Knight, if I can I'd humbly request you and your team's' aid against this attack."

Etel was about to agree when she remembered that Nihlus was in charge of this mission. She looked at him. _We can't just leave these people on their own!_

She wasn't sure if it was her body language or if he had similar thoughts, but the turian Spectre finally answered. "Very well. Our target was seen around here, so if nothing else it's a place to operate from. Where do you need us?"

"We need more people down at the main entrance," the sergeant said before pausing, looking over to Archer. The baron nodded, letting the sergeant adjust the picture to show their deployment locations. "If you have any snipers, there's a gallery up here where they can keep eye on the entire bridge."

"What about air?" Etel asked, remembering how pirates dropped on top of her squad during one of the Hospitaller's raids near Hegemony space.

"Our triple-A is keeping their dropships away. That's how we've held so far: any ship that tries to approach gets shot down and usually lands on whoever's attacking the skyway," the sergeant explained. "But if we lose that AA, the enemy can rain troops on us, and with all due respect even Knights can't handle that for long."

"Due respect noted," Etel responded. It was true.

"Williams, Varkarian, you're up for sniper duty," Nihlus ordered.

"What about me?" Jenkins asked. "I've got a sniper rifle too."

"You might be better on the ground," Etel cut in as she thought about it. "If you, Tali, and Alenko hull down the Mako like we did at New Syracusae, the firepower should be enough to keep them back."

"And the rest of us just hold the line?" Wrex asked as he folded his arms.

"Exactly," Nihlus confirmed with a slow nod. "Then once we've blunted the initial attacks, we can see about our mission. But we can't stay too long - our ship only has a few hours."

"I understand," Archer said as he nodded. "But we'll take whatever help we can get. I leave fine details to you and sergeant. I'm more of a scientist myself."

XXXXXXX

"_Enemy airdrop incoming!" _someone warned over the comms while Ashley took another shot at a geth trooper which tried to move up on the skyway.

"_How many?" _Lethis asked, sounding somewhat distracted.

"_Just one ship. Permission to open fire?"_

"_Do you really need to ask? Take it down!"_

At the other end of the colony, the AA gun came to life and opened fire, spraying a hailstorm of bullets and tracers into the air. After a few moments of firing and a few explosions, the gun operator's voice came onto the radio again.

"_Target down, he's losing altitude fast."_

"_I can see pieces falling off!"_ someone else commented. _"Take that you synthetic tin cans!"_

"_Keep useless chatter off the radio!"_ the gun operator snarled, who apparently was also in charge of the soldier that responded.

_"Hey, those aren't pieces... They're geth!"_ the militia trooper continued.

"_Say again?"_ Lethis requested.

"_Geth are deploying from the ship! They are jumping off!" _the militia trooper responded, panic creeping up in his voice.

"_Stand fast and prepare to repel invaders!"_ the militia commander ordered. _"Remember the plan and-"_

"_KROGAN! KROGAN INSIDE THE PERIMETER!"_ another militia trooper came to the channel. _"They are jumping off the ship!"_

"_Krogan? Impossible, that ship is coming in too fast! They are going to break all their bones if they do so!"_ the commander retorted.

_Not if they are augmented,_ Ashley thought.

"_It's a suicide run,"_ Nihlus explained as his voice cut into channel. _"They are hoping to take down the AA so they can launch a bigger aerial assault._"

"_Hold the line until relieved,"_ Lethis ordered, but Ashley nearly lost his voice among the number of 'reports' by the militia troopers, each sounding more and more panicked.

"_Too many of them!"_

"_We can't kill that krogan!"_

"_We need help!_

"_Stay off the open channel! Use the ones assigned to you!"_

"_Big one! Right there!"_

"_THEY ARE OVERRUNNING US!"_

"_I'm losing control of the situation!"_ the militia commander reported onto the channel loudly but with control. _"The line is disintegrating and if we can't rally the militia, we _will_ lose the AA."_

"_Ash, you're in a position to easily disengage!"_ Shepard responded. _"You need to rally the militia before they rout completely!"_

"Rally them!?" Ashley asked. "How? I doubt one marine appearing is going to help the situation!"

"_Just act like a Noble," _Shepard answered, pausing as a shotgun blast interrupted her, _"the rest will take care of itself!"_

"Act like a noble? I have no idea how nobles act!"

"_Just act like you were born to do this, now GO!"_ Shepard responded, gunfire cutting off any further arguments.

"_Williams, get moving. We can hold it here, but if we lose that AA the geth can drop as many troops as they want on us," _Nihlus responded.

"Yes sir," Ashley relented, before turning to Garrus.

"I can take care of things here," the turian responded, not lifting his head off from the scope as he took another shot.

"Leave some for me," Ashley nodded and switched to her assault rifle.

As the elevator opened up top, she saw that the situation near the anti-air gun was just as bad as it had sounded. The ship had crashed inside the perimeter and while the troops inside it were contained, those which had jumped earlier were flanking the containment attempts. The militia was barely holding, most of them keeping their heads down or pulling back, away from the AA.

_How I am suppose to rally them? Shepard said to act like I was born for this..._ Ashley thought while running to closest batch of troopers huddling down, hiding behind a bunch of rubble from an opened ceiling.

"Who are you?" one of them asked as she slid next to them.

"Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, Alliance Navy. I want a sitrep: what're we looking at?" she demanded, hoping that they wouldn't notice how nervous she was. However, her voice had the desired effect as the militia straightened up.

"Krogan, geth troopers, and at least one of those Juggernaut things got out and are attacking us, from there," the trooper pointed to a hole in the roof, "the rest are holed in that ship but we're getting slaughtered here!" he explained. Ashley nodded and looked over the battlefield.

"Take position over by that debris, it's a good spot to cover the others. Maintain position until relieved. Where's your CO?" she continued, keeping her voice calm. It seemed to have stabilizing effect on militia, since they seemed less panicky and more focused, checking their ammo counts and barrier systems.

"He is over there, by the AA."

"Understood. Cover the troops holding the dropship crew, I'll handle the rest," she ordered and rushed to next group she saw. Taking a quick peek backwards she saw the militia troopers hesitate for a moment before moving to location she had show to them. _Either they're following because they don't know better, or this is really messed up,_ she decided as she found the second group that was shooting wildly. Not to kill, but to say 'go away'.

"There's too many of them!"

"Keep your heads down," Ashley snarled as she grabbed one of the militia and pulled her down before a volley of fire from the krogan passed by where her head was. "Focus fire on krogan first, then on geth! And don't be afraid to use those grenades," she added as she noticed they all had at least one on their belts. "Once you get that done head over there," she pointed to the first group, "Work with them to keep the geth pinned down here and flank what's left!"

"But th... yes mi'lady!" the trooper nodded her head, grabbing a grenade and flinging it towards the krogan as the others followed suit.

Ashley paused, watching them work before shaking her head. The poor kid was probably down to instinct and just using Imperial protocol, forgetting it didn't apply to her. _Or does she?_ she wondered as she moved to the side, laying down suppressive fire as she moved and found the commander firing away with his pistol.

"Stand your ground damn it!" he was shouting as the Juggernaut was approaching with a heavy gatling style weapon, "Don't give them the satisfaction of your deaths!"

Two of the militia - wearing very little armor besides a simple tactical vest - looked at each other, then at the incoming fire that ripped apart the head of a nearby militiaman, then ran back from the ling as fast as they could. Avenger rifles still in hand and not even leaving their grenades behind. The commander turned and Ashley felt her heart skip a beat as she thought he was going to shoot them as his pistol came around to point at the two, but he just cursed under his breath and turned back to shoot at the geth.

She glanced towards the routers and saw a glow, then ran towards the two.

"GET DOWN!" she ordered, throwing a grenade. The two militia heard her and got down just in time as a krogan came out of the back corner.

The grenade caught him in the head and exploded, staggering him as his shields blinked. Aiming just below his head, she pumped two quick bursts with her shotgun, breaking the last of his barriers and making deep marks into his armor that started to bleed. More bullets riddled him as the two militia were desperately firing one handed while trying to crawl back.

As the krogan built up momentum to charge again she threw a second frag grenade, catching the now shieldless krogan's kneecaps and tearing the one to her left apart. The krogan tripped forward as his leg gave out, face coming right up to the militia (whose rifles stopped firing due to overheat) as Ashley ran forward and activated her omni-tool. Getting in close she shoved the omni-blade directly into the back of the krogan's head, pulled it out, then pumped another pair of shots into it with her shotgun through the hole she had left.

"Oh thank God…" one of the two militia gasped as they saw the krogan fall still.

"You can thank Him by holding the line," Ashley retorted. "Go help your commander, he needs everyone he can get!"

"Y… yes ma'am!" the other one answered as the two crawled back to their feet and rejoined the commander. Turning her attention forward to the Juggernaut, she saw the concentrated fire of the militia wearing down the heavily armored machine when a volley of grenades came in from the flank. The synthetic collapsed and when she reached the militia commander's position again she saw that the first few militia she had rallied had used the last of their grenades to take out the thing that had been tearing into the rest.

The firefight quickly died down as Ashley made her way through with the militia and put down the remaining krogan that managed to get back up despite multiple gaping chest wounds that were visibly regenerating. As the last geth drone fell and the militia began to clear the area, the commander took a deep breath and looked to her.

"Thank you, Commander Williams," he said as he nodded. "I'm not sure if we'd be able to hold if you didn't show up. Orders?"

"Do you still need any help up here?" she asked.

"I wouldn't mind a marine to help out… everyone report in!"

The losses came back relatively fast - a bunch of wounded and enough dead to make Ashley uneasy, but they had held on. The bigger problem now, she felt, was that they had no more grenades. _They're going to need those,_ she realized when Nihlus reported something that got her attention.

"_Geth troops are pulling back! Looks like they're withdrawing to regroup. This attack's over."_

"_Short range scanners confirm; they've brought in their infantry transports to pick up the remaining ground troops and are moving back along the skyway. We'll track them as far as we can,"_ Archer confirmed. _"What about the AA? Have we heard anything yet?"_

"The AA is fine," Ashley answered as she keyed her headset. "Though the militia might need another crate or two of grenades, they used all theirs up driving back the attack."

"_Understood, I'll see what we can scrounge up."_

"_Williams, Shepard, we'll head back to the command center. Everyone else help the militia clean up,"_ Nihlus ordered.

"_Understood,"_ Garrus answered.

XXXX

Wiping her hands with the rag provided, Etel walked into the command center to find Williams already there looking over the map with the Baron, who was shaking his head.

"Based on the trajectory of the troops retreating, I'd say the geth went here," Archer began as he pointed to another building on the other end of the skyway. "They've been concentrating around an ExoGeni facility, or at least were before we lost our longer ranged equipment."

"Isn't that an Alliance corporation?" Nihlus asked as he folded his arms.

"Yes, but they've been helping out with some of our research into local…" Archer paused for a moment, rubbing his head as he shook his head. "Local prothean stuff," he finished.

_What was that about?_ Etel wondered as she leaned forward. "Define prothean - that covers a lot of things."

"There's a lot of ruins," Archer retorted. "And it's a mutual arrangement - they've provided some much needed work in repurposing some of the hydroponics here. Our AA battery used to be one of those."

"I see," Nihlus said as he nodded slowly. "What about the tunnels?"

"Still geth in there, but they can't get up without being obvious. A few of those Hopper things tried to scale the side, but it only took one member of the militia to actually shoot them down. Strong wind makes maneuvering rather difficult."

The Spectre put a hand on his chin, then looked to Etel and Williams. "I want you two to take Tali, Liara, and Jenkins and poke the area around the ExoGeni facility. If nothing else you'll hinder the geth further and might be able to get into one of their databases. I'll stay here with the others and clear the tunnels."

"Before you do," Archer added, "you might want to talk to some of the people working on our supplies - the tunnels were one of the sources we used before the geth breached them. If you're heading down there anyways, you might be able to get us what we need to hold on until the relief groups arrive. Also, it's irresponsible of me to ask this with the invasion, but..."

"What is it?" Nihlus asked.

"It's my brother, David. He's… well, he's a mathematical savant, but he couldn't handle the chaos. He went into the tunnels some time ago and we… haven't heard anything…"

Nihlus reached forward and put a hand on the man's shoulder as he looked down. "I can't promise that we'll find him, but if we see him we'll do what we can."

The turian turned his head. "Williams, Shepard, get whatever supplies you need and head out as soon as possible. I'll radio Jenkins to get the Mako out of its hull down."

"Yes sir," Williams answered and the two made their way back through the colony - the walkways and passages clogged with wounded or colonists scrambling to get ready for the next attack. The two eventually managed to get into an available elevator down to the skyway.

As the elevator slowly ratcheted down, Williams spoke up. "Okay Shepard, what was that 'act like a noble' bit about?"

Etel turned to look at her. "What I meant was throw your weight around - let them know who you are, show them that you know what you're doing, and let the natural order of things do the rest."

"That's not something unique to some nobility, though. I didn't even have to act as if I was, I just identified myself and did normal commander work."

"Maybe that's how you saw it, but for them they saw a woman of noble quality - maybe not actually a Noble, but they saw someone who was worth following. That's what the nobility is supposed to be - those who have the upbringing to prepare them to handle the burden of leadership," Etel didn't expect an Alliance marine to understand the full context, but even she had to understand that there was a reason for social superiority.

"So what, you were telling me to abuse their psychology?" the marine asked as she raised an eyebrow. "That's rather cold, Shepard. And if people just lock in with the first person who sounds authoritative, doesn't that just cause problems with fakes?"

"It's not like you have to obey a Noble's order whenever they have a whim," Etel retorted as she shook her head. _More stereotypes._ "You do need to pay due respect, but it's not like I could walk in on some of the Baron's subjects and order them to do something. The militia just needed someone they could look up to, and you are a woman who could do just that. They didn't have time to think if it was valid or not."

"Fair enough, but that doesn't require acting like some Imperial noble."

Etel shrugged and let it lie as the elevator came to a halt and let them out. _It worked, and we stopped the geth from getting rid of the AA,_ she decided. _If the good Lieutenant-Commander doesn't think it's the natural order that helped, that's her choice._

"Mako's all set," Jenkins said as they approached, saluting Williams.

"Good," the marine said as she returned it, looking towards Liara and Tali. "So, Jenkins driving, Tali in the passenger seat, Shepard on the gun? I will take a look of the map and try to find us a route."

"No complaints there," Tali said. "Jenkins can give me a crash course on instruments, but I doubt they are that different from a Lionheart's control panels."

Etel noticed that Williams had not even hesitated to give Tali the technician spot and smiled. _She has learned to trust her_.

After everyone had climbed aboard and Williams had began to look over the map, Jenkins spoke up. "You know, usually when I drive women to a 'girls night out' they usually head to a bar not a battlefield."

Etel smirked while the others laughed.

"Well, most girls aren't special ops teams," Williams commented.

"What, you think I'm joking?" Jenkins demanded indignantly. "I'll let you know I was pretty popular back on Eden Prime!"

Etel blinked as she tried to visualize it, then glanced around. "Okay, I am having trouble imagining Jenkins as a ladies' man. Anyone else having problems?"

"Too many," Tali retorted as she put a hand over her helmet's speaker, cutting off the laugh.

"You just don't know good stuff when it stands in front you," Jenkins chuckled before launching Mako out onto the skyway.

XXXXXXX

"Tunnels, geth, close quarters… you sure we shouldn't have switched teams?" Garrus asked.

Kaidan shrugged as he was working on the last of the water pipes shut down by the geth. "I think we need Tali or Liara down here more than anything, I'm not an expert in prothean waterworks… though that should do it," he said as water started to flow again and he shut the access. "Now we just need to clear out that outpost."

"Let's wait for the others, I'd rather have a krogan to help us, even if it's only to eat the bullets."

Kaidan nodded as he drew his assault rifle and joined Garrus on watch, looking across the long alley that reminded him of the walkways between skyscrapers in Vancouver. _Of course that was an actually clean metropolis - hooray Canadian engineering,_ he thought as he glanced up. They were a few stories above ground level, but it still might as well have been the planet's surface with all the old walkways that were fortunately sound.

"Hang on, movement ahead," Garrus whispered as the two ducked down. Kaidan did catch a glimpse at what Garrus was talking about though: a pair of geth recon drones heading their way.

Kaidan gestured towards them with his left hand and Garrus nodded. Counting down from three with his left, Kaidan readied his omni-tool then when he closed all three fingers the two rose. Kaidan attacked the drone on the right, hitting it with a proximity mine that overloaded the shields and blew out several systems while Garrus fired a sniper round, punching into the other recon drone and blowing it out of the air. The second drone fell quickly after as Kaidan gunned it down with his rifle.

"Nice shooting."

The two turned to see Nihlus and Wrex walking back, Wrex covered in blood. It didn't look like his though, much to Kaidan's relief.

"Thanks," he said as he looked at the krogan. "So, that alpha gone?"

"So's half of the pack. There's also some power cells we can bring up as well."

"Let's get the outpost first," Garrus suggested.

Nihlus nodded as he checked the ammo of his shotgun. "Same as we've done before."

Garrus stayed behind on overwatch as the three moved forward towards the bridge leading to the geth outpost, Wrex and Nihlus ahead while Kaidan remained behind them. As they approached the bridge Kaidan glanced up as he saw a red glint.

"Sniper!" he warned and all three dove behind the fence, a sniper round grazing Nihlus' barrier and shattering it.

"Damn it," the turian cursed as he tapped his omni-tool and his shields flashed back. _Always bring your back up power cells,_ Kaidan mused as Garrus shot the geth sniper.

"_There's more on the balcony, I'll get them,_" Garrus radioed.

"Here they come!" Wrex warned, geth infantry streaming out of the outpost guns blazing. Nihlus threw a grenade and Wrex shielded himself with biotics, charging directly into the mass as Nihlus followed behind with his jet boots. The two crashed into the geth, knocking them down as Kaidan overrode the controls on a Destroyer that was further back and caused it to turn its shotgun onto the nearby geth.

"Kill the Battlemaster!" echoed from the outpost and Kaidan glanced up and felt his gut tightening. Augmented krogan. Three of them.

"I've got this, you get the geth!" Wrex shouted as the krogan charged. Nihlus jumped above with his jet boots as the krogan charged, coming in behind them and blowing another synthetic away with his shotgun before overheating another one's shotgun before it could fire.

Kaidan moved forward to get a better angle to support Nihlus as Garrus finished off the snipers and was moving forward. Wrex took the charges of two of the krogan, sliding back from the blow but still standing as all their barriers shattered. A third krogan however had missed Wrex as Kaidan was moving forward across the bridge.

"Shit!" he cursed as he glanced behind him, then dropped to his knees and reached forward. His head felt like someone had stabbed it as a familiar blue glow tinted his vision, but he focused and as the krogan charging him was closing in, he lifted his hands.

"What the-" the augmented krogan started as he was launched vertically into the air. Not far, and was close enough that Kaidan almost expected to get a shot too close for his barriers to stop, but the krogan was surprised enough that by the time it fired Kaidan's kinetic barrier caught it. The shotgun blast knocked him forward, but the long and half mechanical scream that followed told him what he needed to know.

Wrex had killed one of the krogan, while Nihlus and Garrus were cleaning up the last of the geth. Wrestling with his opponent, the battlemaster managed to flip the krogan towards Kaidan and he immediately raises his assault rifle and opened fire, aiming low. Half his shots hit the ground, but the rest went into the back of the augmented krogan's head and into the armored hump. The krogan tried to look back to see him, but in that time Wrex brought his oversized shotgun around and pumped a blast directly into his opponent's neck.

"Thanks," Wrex said as he looked up and nodded to him.

"You're welcome," he answered as Nihlus reported it was all clear.

"Not as bad as the one on Therum," Garrus remarked as they made their way into the outpost as Nihlus was accessing a transmitter close to the back wall that looked like it was wired into the floors above.

"The one on Therum was a Battlemaster," Wrex grumbled as he was applying medigel to one of his wounds. "These krogan? Probably one of their first battles."

Kaidan nodded. "Yeah. Good thing those augs weren't any heavier; I barely kept under the one that charged me."

"I saw," Nihlus cut in as he glanced over. "Not in detail, but I saw the krogan go flying. Nice work, Lieutenant."

"Thank you. So, anything on the transmitter?"

"Nothing, the geth wiped it. I've wired it to blow, so let's get out of here."

The four hurried out of the outpost, an explosion soon echoing throughout the tunnels. It was contained well within the outpost, but Kaidan still felt the heat wave and could smell the smoke.

"Alright, let's grab the power cells and… contact!" Nihlus warned as they all pointed towards a man towards the end of the tunnels.

"Just a colonist," Wrex said as he lowered his shotgun. Brown eyes and with wrinkles on his face despite almost certainly being younger than Kaidan was, the colonist staggered forward with half steps as he made his way towards them.

"David Archer?" Nihlus asked, his shotgun pointed towards the ground in front of the man.

"Yes, yes. Sorry to er, bother you, but I need to - ARGH!" he collapsed to a knee, holding his head with both hands.

"Are you okay?" Kaidan asked as he took a step forward. He knew that sometimes the autistic spectrum came with an increased sensitivity to pain.

"The whip, the master's whip…" he muttered, "reminds me that I'm… I'm…"

"Alive?" Wrex offered.

"Yes! But the geth, there's others looking for them, trying to stop them before they find..." he winced, head dropping as he stared down at the ground and started to hyperventilate.

"Before they find what?" Nihlus asked as he took a knee next to him.

"The Th-AAAARGH!" his knees buckled and he fell face first, Nihlus barely catching him in time to stop him from landing roughly on the stone beneath them, shotgun clattering to the side as the two ended up prone.

"You need to…" a scream cut off whatever warning David was trying to provide.

Kaidan rushed forward and started to scan him with his omni-tool, trying to find what could be causing the pain. Sighing as the scan completed, he shook his head.

"I can't find anything that's obviously wrong," the medic muttered. "Just the usual stuff from living on a non-native planet and his nervous system spiking suddenly."

"Can you do anything to help with the pain?" he asked when David suddenly stopped, curling up into a fetal position. "David?"

"It's… it's pain. Simple pain. A bush, a bush with thorns…"

"He's lost it," Garrus finally offered as he glanced back. "I'm not sure bringing him back is a good idea if he's going to be a danger to the colony."

"We can't leave him here either," Kaidan protested as he lifted him up. "If we can get him to the Landing…"

"Landing? no… Sailing, flying… away from - AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Kaidan winced at the sudden scream, shaking his head. _Migraine and screaming, just what I need..._

"Away from what?" Nihlus demanded.

"My brother. Ask him… he knows…"

He stopped suddenly, silence staying within the tunnels save for an audible series of chirps, grumbles, and mechanical noise Kaidan knew all too well.

"The geth, they're coming! They know who you are! Who we are!"

"Wait, how did you…?" Garrus started, but before he could finish the question they came under fire and Kaidan dove down to keep David from getting hit.

"Recon drones!" Garrus warned as they all turned and opened fire. The drones weaved side to side, but there were enough of them that stray rounds still hit others and geth infantry were hanging back at a distance. What caught Kaidan's eye as he pulled himself back up was one of the larger ones with two protrusions sticking out of the base that reminded him of a boat's hull.

The odd drone shot above them, and as it did Kaidan's eyes went wide. "Bombs!" he warned as he threw up a biotic barrier, a full payload landing on the barrier, sticking, then exploding. Grunting as the feedback cut through his head like a machine gun he dropped to a knee as the others were firing at the other drones.

"Bomber drones, really?!" Garrus groaned as he turned and shot it down with one well placed sniper shot into the eye as it came back. The drone exploded into shrapnel, and Kaidan lowered the barrier to focus on his omni-tool as he hit one of the recon drones with another proximity mine, overloading it.

The few drones left withdrew, hiding in the ledge above where they couldn't be shot at and the infantry backed off too, switching to their assault rifles and laying down ineffective suppressive bursts, enough that going forward was going to be extremely difficult.

As he turned to see how David was doing, the man was curled up into the fetal position again, completely silent and staring as if he was looking at the void of space and nothing else.

"He's out of it," Kaidan muttered as he took a medical scan with his omni-tool. "Heartrate's dropping but not fatally. He's just… seized up. But I don't know what's causing it; we need a better scanner."

"So what do we do?" Garrus asked as they looked towards Nihlus. The Spectre paused for a moment before answering.

"Kaidan, sedate him. Wrex, carry him. We bring him to colony and ask for the _Normandy_ to pick him up if the colony does not have the facilities. If nothing else it'll make the geth kidnapping him harder. Then we go ask the baron what he has been hiding from us."

Kaidan nodded. "We still going to grab the power cells on the way?"

"I'll take care of that," the Spectre answered, "but you three keep moving. We don't know how far out geth reinforcements are."

XXXXXXXXX

"I've got something," Etel warned as her comms suddenly came alive. "My comms picked up some chatter, encrypted stuff. Tali, can you route my comms to the Mako?"

"Give me a sec," Tali responded, setting to work. Soon, her helmet comms had been rerouted to the Mako's own.

"_Something is coming up,"_ a burly male voice warned.

"_Geth again? Or something new?"_ a soft spoken woman answered.

"_It ain't geth, this one has wheels, but it ain't one of ours either,"_ a first voice spoke. _"Amaz, you recognize it? You're the tank geek after all."_

"_You make one comment about difference between an MBT and an AFV..."_ a third voice joined the conversation. "_Hmm... Looks like Alliance M-35 Mako, but we don't have any of those."_

"Someone's seen us," Williams warned, "and they're Imperial by the sound of it."

"Agreed. Want me to respond to them?" Etel asked. Williams nodded in response. "Whoever is in this channel, this is Sir Etel Shepard, Knights Hospitaller, onboard the Alliance IFV. We are not hostile, repeat, we are not hostile."

"_We read you Sir Shepard. Glad to hear someone is still alive,"_ the first voice answered as the others sighed in relief. _"Keep continuing your current heading, we will be waiting for you."_

"Understood. Out."

"_Out."_

"Well, you heard the lady, let's go meet our new friends," Williams ordered. Jenkins nodded and took the Mako to the end of the sky way, up until they saw two Imperial soldiers standing up from the rubble, dressed in urban camo. Jenkins stopped the Mako, opened the back, and let Williams and Etel climbed out. Upon seeing Etel's uniform two soldiers gave a quick bow which Etel responded to.

"Glad to see you milady. We thought everyone was dead in that sector," first one said, with his voice matching the one they had heard first in the radio. "Corporal Hakim, and this is Private First Class Amaz."

"Sir Shepard, of the Knight Hospitallers. This is Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams, of the Systems Alliance Navy," Etel introduced them. "We've got three more inside. Who's your commanding officer?"

"That would be the Duke and General," Amaz responded. "You better drive the Mako to that recess there. It's better hidden there and if the geth show up you can waste 'em."

"The Duke will want to talk to you anyways," Hakim nodded. "You need to take a small climb over that rubble there and then down the ramp. We have a command post set up there. Don't worry about your vehicle, we'll look after it."

"Mind if we leave few of ours there too?" Williams asked, "Might as well do some minor maintenance while we're at it."

"Sure. If geth pass by it's more guns on our side," Hakim laughed. Williams instructed Jenkins and Tali to stay and do some maintenance on Mako. Meanwhile, Liara joined the two Spectre candidates as they headed to the command post. As they nearly stepped into a large room, one of the soldiers standing nearby stopped them.

"Wait," he gestured towards a set of sensors and pipes set around the entrance. "Don't want to fry our guests before the Duke sees them. Franz, you done yet?" he shouted to someone around the corner.

"Give me a second, I had to set this up in a hurry and I told you it wasn't precision work. I need to manually cut flow."

"Whatever, just get it done," a few moments later, the guard gestured them to move forward. They moved carefully through the doorway, watching as a technician began to work on the piping again.

"Sorry about that, we needed something to keep the bugs out," the soldier apologized.

"Pretty clever setup," Williams noted. "The Seekers hate the heat, so that should keep them out."

"We've got two biotics on standby incase they attack in large enough numbers to get through, but it's pretty far from ideal," the soldier commented before stopping in front a table and giving a bow. "Sir, I have brought the visitors"

"Thank you. Dismissed," a man with slightly better armor nodded, with the soldier returning to his duties. "Duke Charles of House Descoteaux, at your service. This is my right hand man, General Boucicaut, who is in charge of the Planetary Defense Force," the man paused and curled his lip. "Or what's left of it."

"Glad to meet you Sir," Etel answered as she bowed. Williams merely saluted, with Liara following her example. The Duke seemed to accept it.

"How were things back where you came from? The last we had heard the sector had been overrun," the general asked, leaning over a holographic representation of the area and pointing at the appropriate places on the map.

"Vartan's Landing is still holding up. Some of our people were left to assist them," Williams responded.

"Vartan's is still running?" the general asked, surprise evident in his voice as he lifted his head. "I would've thought that that last Seeker swarm would have done them in. Guess they're made of sterner stuff than I thought!"

Etel and Williams stared at each other and the Knight knew that the same thought was going through their minds: The Baron had claimed there were no Seekers deployed.

"The Baron is really putting up a good effort then!" the duke laughed. "Remind me to put him up for commendation if we get out of this," he paused, glancing to his aide as his lip curled. "Ah, who was in charge of that fief?"

"Baron Gavin of House Archer, my lord."

"Yes, now I remember. Sad thing with his brother," the Duke nodded. "Still, he's run his place pretty well, hasn't he? Not bad for a man who wasn't interested in governing!"

"The Landing has seen it's poverty line vanish, Sir," the aide responded.

"Now if only we could do that everywhere! So, what brings you to our little corner of Hell in the universe?" he asked, earning a glare from a chaplain that was holding a small prayer with some civilians in the far side of the room.

"We're here to investigate geth attack as well as a rogue Spectre," Etel explained as she took a step forward. "Do you have any any idea as to what the geth are up to?"

"Can't help you with that, I'm afraid," the Duke responded, shaking his head. He looked over to his general, who also shook his head.

"There doesn't seem to a clear pattern," the general added. "They aren't doing anything outside of what you'd do to take a planet."

"Didn't you say something about strange concentration about in the region they came from?" the duke asked, causing the general to look irritated, before he schooled his face back to normal.

"Well, I was wondering about extra troops they seemed to have at sector A-5, but with revelation that Vartan's Landing is still standing it's pretty obvious why," Boucicaut responded, turning his gaze back to map in front of him, marking the colony into yellow.

_He's marking it as contested_, Etel noticed. _He doesn't believe it will stand much longer... but if the colony was supposed to have been lost a long time ago, what is going on here?_

"Can you think anything special related to the colony, anything?" Etel asked. The duke looked over to his aide again. The aide brought up his datapad, looking over it.

"Only thing outside the norm is the landing port and an excavation agreement with ExoGeni, an Alliance corporation. ExoGeni paid them well for rights to poke around their tower, but they have not announced any discoveries."

"Right, I think I remember going over that agreement before recognizing it," Descoteaux nodded. "It was really Archer's idea."

"There's a connection," Williams offered, scratching her chin. "So, where exactly is the ExoGeni building?"

Etel frowned. _We already know about the ExoGeni building, what's she playing at?_

"They set themselves up in one of the towers, over here," the general said, dragging the map to show the location on the other side of the skyway from Vartan's Landing. "The problem now is that the geth decided it made a perfect place to house their air units."

"Hmmm..." Williams muttered, looking over the map, then looked up. "Shepard, can we talk for a moment?"

The Knight glanced at the Duke, who nodded and gestured for them to go. Liara followed behind them but stood to the side as the two lowered their voices.

"The baron lied about Seekers and colony was supposed to have been overrun ages ago," Williams folded her arms. "I'm no math geek but I'm pretty sure that doesn't add up."

"And he said they had been getting resupplied," Etel nodded. "Something is going on there, something the Baron didn't tell to us. Most likely related to ExoGeni. More than we thought."

"Agreed. We could go back and confront the baron without any real evidence, or..." Williams gestured for Etel to continue.

"We could go poke at corporate secrets for clues without having to deal with bureaucracy, while everyone thinks it's just taking out a geth airbase," Etel finished, smiling.

"Two birds, one stone," Williams nodded.

"Let's make sure the Duke doesn't have any objections first, but I'm all for it."

Liara stayed outside this time as the two went back in, where the Duke was starting to impatiently tap his foot.

"So what are you two planning?" he demanded before he stopped and frowned. "Actually... why are you two even after this rogue Spectre? Are you Spectres yourself?"

"Actually, we are just candidates," Etel explained. "We're working with Spectre Nihlus Kryik, but he's at Vartan's Landing right now. He sent us to investigate the geth activity over here."

"Hold on a minute… you're those 'Spectre Sisters' the media keeps blabbing about aren't you?" General Boucicaut asked as he folded his arms. "Got any proof you are who you say you are?"

"Military ID enough?" Williams asked as she activated her omni-tool.

"Hmm, seems to match. You too," the general said to Etel, who had also brought her identification up. "Well, they seem to be the right ones, but without outside connections I can't do a full check."

"At this point I honestly don't care," the duke said, raising his hands up in the air. "They're willing shoot geth and that is good enough for me. You're going to ExoGeni building, correct?"

"Yes, that seems to be most logical place to go," Etel confirmed.

"Good. Me and my House Guard will come with you.".

Before either Etel or WIlliams could object, the general spoke up.

"Sir! I must protest this! With your son and wife missing the chain of command would be lost if you were to die!"

"Then you're in charge, but I am not sitting in a bunker like a rat in a hole, waiting for the geth to find me. Besides, hitting the geth refueling station would help everyone," the Duke retorted with finality. The general merely lowered his head and muttered his understanding.

Nodding to himself, the Duke turned towards them. "I will join you in few minutes after I have gathered my men," lowering his head briefly, he left everyone standing there, not even waiting for his aide to follow.

"What just happened?" Williams asked, looking between everyone still standing there.

"The Duke is… well, he's more of a man of action than a man of management," the aide explained. "Stubborn too. He gets an idea into his head and you'd have better luck convincing krogan to become a monk than changing his mind. He means well even when he jumps in head first, so please, bring back alive if you can. Ideally in one piece."

"We will. How good a shot is he anyways?"

"Well, he can hit a stationary target when he aims," the aide explained before the general snorted.

_Must be an inside joke_, Etel concluded. Still, it sounded like they wouldn't need to fear being caught in friendly fire and the duke's personal guard would be probably the best fighting Imperial combat force on the planet short of any other Knights who were there.

XXXX

A few minutes later they were back at the Mako, now flanked with the Duke and five men - two of which were carrying a cannon that packed itself up the same way their normal rifles did for easy deployment.

"Isn't that little bit overkill?" Tali asked when she saw the weapon.

"We've seen the geth deploy Armatures all over the city and those things can get into places normal vehicles can't," smaller one of the two heavy gunners said. "When we run into one, you'll thank us for taking it with us."

"So, we've got some backup then?" Jenkins asked, sticking his head out from the underside of the Mako with an active omni-tool.

"Yes, the duke and some of his personal guard are joining us," Ashley explained as she took a step to the side so Jenkins could see him better. "Apparently ExoGeni's property has become a base of operations for the geth."

"Alright, so what do we have?" Jenkins responded as he closed suspension hatch and climbed out.

"Duke Charles of House Descoteaux, a pleasure to meet you," the Duke said, raising his hand with a small smile.

To Ashley's pleasant surprise, Jenkins did a quick salute for the Duke, who nodded in response. _He's picking up on the etiquette._

"With me are guardsmen Delavor, Theuderic, Hashim, Giselda and Nasir," the Duke continued, each soldier nodding as their names were called out. "Delavor and Nasir are in charge of our mobile anti-armor cannon."

"Glad to see some House Guards joining us," Tali said, bowing to the Duke. "Extra guns never hurt anyone."

"Except maybe the enemy," Jenkins added, and a few of the guards snickered.

Once they had a route planned, they all got into the Mako with Ashley driving this time and Etel on the gun. As they made their way through the ruined skyway, Jenkins was engrossed in a discussion with Delavor and Nasir about the cannon the two carried.

"...and that's how old Matilda here got her name," the shorter of the two, Nasir, finished as he tapped the folded cannon affectionately. "Could not pass up the chance to get to use her again."

"I've got to see that cannon in action," Jenkins commented as he took a look at it. "M-502s do pretty nasty things to anything they hit, but those things are usually left for specialists."

"Don't worry, we'll cover your tin can," the bigger man of the fire team said with a wide grin, while tapping the Mako's hull.

"Said tin can has a gun befitting a main battle tank," the Duke chided. "And your anti-tank gun only fires forty millimeter slugs."

"Save it for the geth," Ashley snorted as she glanced down at the sensors. "And speaking of the geth, there's the ExoGeni building… oh boy."

"That's an understatement, LC," Jenkins agreed as Ashley brought the Mako to a halt. "Since when did dropships hug buildings?"

"They're using it for power, and it's the source of the jamming," the Duke explained, unbuckling himself and standing up to get a better look. "They've been busy, the upper levels have some anti-air turrets now."

"Yeah, we tried to take a few shots with something bigger," Delavor commented, "I think they hooked the K-Barriers into the building or something 'cause I know our strategic ones don't cover individual structures."

"So we take it out from the inside," Etel offered as she leaned down. "One thing at a time though. We need to clear out the perimeter security."

"Collectors, geth, krogan…" Ashley shook her head and sighed. _Terrible pun, but.._. "Oh my."

XXXXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes**:

_\- With using the Archers… this was something debated back and forth since we had already shifted a number of characters to the SE, but then we realized that there were some things that could be good payoff, payoff worth the risk. Plus it's a chance to see some other kinds of things with the SE and we kinda had to heavily overhaul Feros just because of the shifted canon._

_\- And one of those shifts is splitting the team. As said before, the whole team can be together and the proverbial choreography becomes a mess, or the team can be split into different things. Plus, it allows some…. different things to be done._

_\- Real Life continues to be a pain, but updates will be coming, even if it takes two months to come._

_\- Thank you to RheasHelm, reality deviant, sewmanD47, Jozern, , Endrius, scottusa1, and Dark Champion for your feedback._

_\- Codex entry for this chapter is on House Guards. For those who want to know more about the guys acting as cannon fodd- er, backup._

**Codex: Star Empire Military - Ground Forces - House Guard**

House Guards are privately enlisted military units who serve Noble Houses within the Star Empire. These units are not officially part of the Imperial Army, but are instead retained by specific Houses. The size, training, and equipment will vary between different Houses depending on their funding and role. Due to the expenses of maintaining a Guard unit, which the Nobility must pay themselves, some smaller House Guards are derogatorily called "glorified bodyguards". Despite being privately retained troops, they are regulated under the laws of the Star Empire with size restrictions applied to these units based on the size of the responsibility each House has. The largest size is a brigade for an Archduke responsible for a whole sector.

Given their relatively small size compared to the Army, most House Guards are an elite unit supporting local PDF forces to serve as a scalpel to the PDF's sledgehammer. Service in the House Guard is seen as a great honor, primarily due to their direct service to the Nobility and due to overall being elite soldiers. Although they are among some of the Empire's best troops, their bodyguard duties accompanying their lieges during their visits abroad has also led to rivalries between different Guard units.

These rivalries, while mostly good natured, have occasionally sparked into outright fighting when two Houses are at odds. Sensing an opportunity to hone their skills and to keep it from escalating, several Houses got together to find a better way to channel this and their efforts gave rise to annual tournaments. These tournaments see Houses pitting their Guard units against each other in friendly competitions, ranging from simulated war games to physical sports or even the Empire's ever-popular swoop racing. These events also serve as a potential recruiting drives for some of the Empire's Chivalric Orders as service in Guards (particularly ones that do well) is seen as proof of skill and competence.

The largest of these events is Imperial Honor Guard Application competitions, where people seeking to join the Imperial House's personal honor guard compete to prove their worth to the Empire as a whole, but more specifically the Emperor. This tournament is only held once in every ten years. Other notable tournaments are Damocles War Games Event, Olympia Games Tournament and Harken Challenge Tournament.


	23. Priority: Feros - ExoGeni

"Thank you for finding David, it was…"

"That's alright," Nihlus said as he waved his hand. "But he needs a doctor to check on him, he was going on about some 'master below'."

Gavin Archer frowned as Kaidan handed the baron's younger brother over to a pair of nurses who took him towards what was left of their hospital. "I can't say I know anything about that. As I said, David is a mathematical savant, it's probably the stress of what's happened clouding his mind."

"It seemed rather real," Wrex grumbled. "You don't just suddenly scream in pain while trying to explain something. Only time I've seen that is when slavers put chips into people's heads as a restraint, and unless a chip was well hidden…"

"No, he doesn't have any cybernetics like that. And if he did, your scanners probably would've picked that up. He hasn't had his medication for some time now, with us being cut off, so it could be withdrawal or something. We'll get him to medical and see to him, those tunnels are not the most hygienic anyway," the Baron said, waving his hand before gesturing them to follow. "Besides, we've got more pressing concerns with the geth. While you were down in the tunnels they've reinforced their blockade. If your friends are going to try and come back, they're almost certainly going to run into it."

"How much hardware are we talking about?" Garrus asked, folding his arms.

"Mobile turrets, at least a few more Armatures, and infantry. Probably mustering for a second attack as well, but if they try to come back they'll head straight into a massacre.

"The Mako is a good vehicle, but even it can't take on an entire army on its own. The designers kinda missed that," Kaidan commented, earning a brief chuckle from the baron.

"I'm sure the first prototype would have, before they made it more practical. But even if they're not going to come back that way, I'm not comfortable with letting them build up again to attack."

"So you want us to take them out, or do you just want to mess them up?"

"Just mess them up. I've already asked more from you than I can, but the fewer attacks here, the better. Even forcing them to spend time to secure their assembly zone would be helpful."

Nihlus paused, then nodded. "Upload what your men know about the barricade to our omni-tools and we'll do what we can."

As they made their way back down and looked over the data, Kaidan glanced over towards the turian Spectre. "So… are we just going to ignore David's condition?"

"No, but I'd like to let the matter lie a bit. Besides, the more we help them, the more open to talking they'll be."

"I still don't think we'll be able to do too much," Garrus pointed out as he looked at the geth rally point on his omni-tool. "Too many synthetics."

"We might be able to try some of the skyway's support walks," Wrex offered as he activated his own. "Goes right under it. It'll probably be guarded, but I think we can take that."

XXXXXX

"So how did the geth miss this?" Etel asked as they slipped through a passage beneath the skyway.

"It's not the most stable," the Duke answered as he nodded to cracks in the floor. "Normally we send people through with emergency booster packs just in case."

"So why hasn't it been repaired?" Williams retorted as she ran her rifle's flashlight against the ground. "You've been here for centuries."

"It doesn't affect the superstructure, so as long as we had it marked off there were more important things to spend money on like keeping the aqueducts up to speed with our population."

"So it's basically one of those things that never got fixed because other stuff needed doing?"

"Pretty much. You need to specifically know about this passage to come here, and if it collapses on its own it doesn't affect anything," the Duke confirmed.

"May want to keep it labelled as broken on your maps after you fix it," Williams offered. "If these tunnels go as far as I think they do, they'd be great for sneaking around."

"Hold up," Liara warned, stopping the group as she was looking between her omni-tool and the floor. "This section's less stable then the others. We should go one at a time, and Etel should be in the back."

"Why?" Tali asked, checking her omni-tool as well.

"If it breaks, she can catch anyone closer to her."

"Good point."

Once everyone was on the other side, Etel made her way back up to the front and soon light began to pour into the tunnel, obstructed by another warning sign and barricades that they were able to quickly move out of the way.

"Should we close it behind us?"

"Good call. Giselda, Hashim, take care of that. We'll move ahead."

The tunnel continued on, but they didn't need the flashlights anymore and soon it led up a rubble strewn ramp. One far too tight for her comfort. _We could have a firefight here and have plenty of cover…_ Etel mused as she climbed over what looked like a fallen wall support.

As they approached the top of the passage they came to a wide opening with more rubble strewn about. This looked to be much fresher than the stuff in the previous passage, and a quick glance to the left showed that there was an opening that was now sealed. _Must have been a hangar bay that started to collapse from the fighting,_ she decided. Ahead was a passage further into the facility, and a floor above she could just make out another one over a thick and rather tall stone railing.

But something felt wrong; it was too open and they had not encountered any opposition.

"Too quiet," Jenkins muttered.

"Heads up!" Tali shouted. They looked up just in time to see a Geth Armature rising up from behind the stone railing. It immediately began to charge and everyone dove for cover, the blue pulse passing over them and smashing into a pillar behind them.

"It's not going to keep missing for long," Etel muttered as she found herself in cover next to Williams. "That was a snap shot."

"Hope Nihlus is having a better time than us," Ashley answered as she pulled out her sniper rifle as everyone began to get themselves into a firing position or were trying to whittle down the shields.

Etel nodded as she glanced up and saw a rock pile that looked solid enough. "I'm going to try and get closer, cover me!"

As she leapt out from behind the rocks and sprinting forward, the Armature stopped it's suppression of the duke and shifted to move it's machine gun towards her, the impact behind her telling the knight that she was barely ahead as she dove behind the rocks.

XXXXXXX

"You know maybe I should've tried for ICT…" Kaidan muttered as he and Wrex were making their way along the bottom of the skyway - on the outside.

"Why's that?" Wrex asked.

"They actually train to use jetpacks, which I sure wouldn't mind having right now…"

The krogan snorted. "Too noisy and drinks fuel like it's ryncol…. ah."

They came to a gap in the service platform - or at least that's what Kaidan had suspected was the prothean equivalent of one. It was wide, easily three meters, and the color of the exposed stonework told him that it had happened recently. Nearby scorch marks gave him an idea of what had happened.

"Looks like we need to jump," Wrex muttered.

Kaidan glanced at the gap, then turned to the krogan. "It's a long way."

Wrex looked over, grimacing. "Yeah… okay, so it's a _biotic_ jump we need."

"Throw?"

"Yeah, just on ourselves."

Kaidan paused, Eden Prime flashing back into his mind. "Yeah, we should toss each other then."

"Huh?"

"Look we're not going to have as much control doing it on ourselves, and I don't think we have the room to miss. So we have to toss each other."

"Right. You want to go first?"

"Sure."

"I won't tell the turians if you won't."

Kaidan smirked as he shifted his weight. "Not a word."

The krogan took a step back, and a moment later Kaidan felt the shift of mass. Fighting his instinct to try to counteract it, he then found himself fighting an urge to scream as he was hurled across, arms flailing, and landed roughly, stumbling as he landed on the other side.

"Wind... I'll toss myself, you guide me in!" Wrex warned as he felt the sudden push towards the skyway - Kaidan briefly wondered if it was too loud, but he didn't hear any reaction from the geth outpost ahead.

"Okay, in three… two… one…"

Wrex ran forward, body surrounded with the telltale blue glow, then as he jumped he threw an arm forward and launched into the air. The wind suddenly shifted, leaving Wrex going lower than he intended and Kaidan immediately reached out to pull him with biotics. The krogan's eyes went wide as he hit the end, both arms reaching up to hold himself up.

"A little… help…" the krogan muttered as he held on.

Kaidan took a step back and then pulled him up with biotics, lifting the krogan's legs so Wrex could walk onto the platform with his hands, and as soon he was past it Kaidan let go as his head was starting to throb.

_Nothing I'm not used to,_ he decided as Wrex pushed himself up.

"We're not telling the turians," the krogan muttered.

"No, but I might show Joker the helmet cam footage."

The krogan grimaced. "Only if I get to show him you flying."

"Deal."

XXXXXXXXX

Ashley tucked her head in instinctively as she slid away from the Armature's last shot, one that had left a crater where she had been before diving away. Rolling to the side since she didn't have time to get up again before it's machine guns could zero in on her, she found herself behind another fallen pillar and next to three Imperial soldiers. The two with the cannon and a woman.

"So, anyone have a plan?" the bigger of the two heavy weapons team members asked.

"Blowing up that armature would be a good start," Ashley snorted as she checked her sniper rifle before leaning out for a quick shot at the Armature.

"How?" Nasir asked, causing the third trooper to stop firing her assault rifle and look at them.

"You have an _anti-armor weapon_!" she snarled, though her expression was hidden behind a polarized helmet as she grabbed Nasir's head and turned it towards the Armature. "Over there is a hunk of armored metal! _Figure it out_!"

"Take it easy Giselda," the bigger of the two retorted. "We can't just fire this thing off without considering over penetration or missing - if we hit the wrong spot we might collapse the passage onw-"

Another explosion cut the comment off.

"We'll just aim high," Nasir finished as he took a quick look around. "Commander, think you can distract it for us? We need to set up, and I think the ramp is our best bet."

Ashley nodded. The extra distance would give them a better angle to make the shot when the Armature was standing up fully. "Okay, on three… two… one…"

The moment she had counted down, Ashley leapt out from behind as the Armature was trying to shoot Tali, then it suddenly shifted its attention towards her. Once the heavy weapons team saw it, they rushed back into the ramp and began setting up.

Taking cover again as her kinetic barrier broke, Ashley glanced up to see the Armature holding firm despite swirling mass effect energy around it. _Liara's trying a singularity?_ Ashley thought in surprise. _Guess it might wear down the armor..._

Before she could consider something else, something shot past the whole battlefield and an impact like ground zero of a thunderstrike nearly deafened her. She glanced up and saw the Armature had taken a hit right under the gun, and there was a hole in it's neck.

"Direct hit!" Delavor shouted. "Fire again, fire a-"

Before they could exploit this, the Armature curled up and dropped down, it's back barely visible over the wall it was hiding behind.

"_Damn it, it's got a self repair module!"_ Tali warned, her voice buzzing both in Ashley's earpiece and her voice carrying. _"We can't just wear it down!"_

"_So we blast it with the big gun!"_ Jenkins retorted. _"Whittle it down, then blast it!"_

"_Good plan, Corporal,"_ the duke answered. _"Everyone got that? Thin the Armature's kinetic barriers, then our heavy weapons team blasts it!"_

"Got it," Ashley answered as she switched to her assault rifle; more shots, more chances to strain the barrier.

Everyone traded off firing as the Armature rose back up, and when Tali saw it's barriers break the cannon was fired. The shot hit the Armature and damaged it's main gun, but it simply folded up before they could get another shot.

"That's one tough Armature," Shepard muttered.

"What's it made out of?" Ashley retorted as the two were waiting for their weapons to cool, having ended up next to each other from their dodging of the Armature's heavy pulse.

"No idea, but I don't think we can stay here playing whack-a-varren for much longer, we're running out of cover from it's main gun!"

"_We suppress it one more time, then we move past it into the passage ahead,"_ the Duke ordered.

"_Sir, we can't move quickly with the cannon, we'd have to abandon it,"_ Nasir answered.

"This also might be our only way out," Shepard added. "Maybe I should stay behind as well, keep them safe."

"This is a long range fight, I don't think you're the one to stay," Ashley pointed out.

"_Armature's about to get up, make a plan and fast!"_ Tali warned.

"_I'll stay behind,"_ Jenkins said. _"You need the rest of the team in there, plus at least this way the tabloids can't say Alliance marines left behind an Imperial guard unit."_

Ashley paused, then nodded. "Okay Corporal, it's your call. If it gets too hot, you three bug out immediately, understood?"

"_Understood… here it comes!"_

As it rose everyone opened fire, including the cannon, punching into its kinetic barrier as it started to spray machine gun fire all over the place and fired a pulse round towards the far side, though it shot high.

But it's shields did not last very long, and the moment it huddled up again everyone sprinted forward, getting into the passage ahead while the Armature was repairing itself. As she reached it, Ashley paused and took a look back in time to see Jenkins hurrying in behind the ramp and immediately throwing himself prone.

"_Okay, we're in position. Good luck in there!"_ Jenkins radioed.

"Got it, we'll see if we can't neutralize the Armature from our side."

"_Thanks."_

XXXXXX

"Thanks for the help!" the colonist said, as Kaidan finished wiring up the connections. The generator hummed back to life, with several smaller turrets around the colony starting to track their surroundings again.

"No problem, happy to help. Just remember, if they kill anything, it's on my score, alright?" Kaidan said, waving the man as he left.

"Sure," the man nodded, before returning back to the generator, leaving Kaidan to make his way back to where Nihlus was.

They did not end up doing a lot of damage to the geth positions, but they did manage to take out their power generators for deployable turrets and took out plenty of drones and on their retreat the colonists had covered them. The siege was ongoing, but the geth were going to need more time to attack again. So they continued to busy themselves shoring up the defenses, jury rigging additional turrets, and other preparations.

Still, he hadn't spent the time purely helping out, and neither was Nihlus who had just finished a discussion with Sergeant Lethis. Nihlus looked around before walking off into a side alley, and Kaidan followed him.

"Noticed anything?" Nihlus asked him, lowering his voice.

"What do you mean?" Kaidan asked.

"Nobody wants to talk about the colony itself. If there is some sort of 'master', they direct me to the Baron. I tried to ask David for more information, but I couldn't get much, especially with that nurse constantly ordering me to leave him."

"Yeah, I noticed. It's not even the usual distrust, they're being real tight lipped about whatever's going on," Kaidan nodded, going over several conversation he had had. "Even that salarian merchant who's stuck here, couldn't give me a good reason to want to live here all of a sudden. And he's only here because the geth blew his ship up! Something's not right here, something more than one crazy guy rambling."

"We might not know what it is, but I did manage to get a somewhere. David told me that the master was 'below', before he had another seizure. The nurse then gave him sedatives and kicked me out."

"She kicked a Spectre out?" Kaidan asked, tilting his head.

"Yes, her exact words were 'Damn the Council and their Spectres, he needs his rest'. Usually when I get that it's more polite…"

_Yeah, it's not like you could screw them over badly,_ Kaidan mused as he put a hand on his chin. "You sure this is something we can use? The colony doesn't run too deep, otherwise we're into the access tunnels."

"True, but I found something that makes David's testimony actionable. I swiped the colony plans while Garrus and Wrex were having that argument."

"Wait, you planned that?" Kaidan asked, tilting his head. "And they agreed?"

"Sometimes animosity and stereotypes are an excellent tool, and let's be fair Garrus needs to realize that there's more to krogan than bloodthirsty berserkers. Anyways, there is entire section of the tower that's conveniently... shall we say, missing," Nihlus finished, turning around so his body shielded a small projection from his omni-tool.

"Missing?" Kaidan asked as he looked, but as he saw the blank section he nodded. "I get it; the Baron said the tower had been picked clean ages ago, right? Yet here's is this huge chuck marked as unknown?"

"Exactly. Something is there, and I want to know _what._ If my theory is correct, it's that 'master'."

"So, what's the plan then? How do we get there?"

"Through here," Nihlus pointed at a small tunnel that lead adjacent to the uncharted territory. "I '_liberated_' some breaching charges from the geth roadblock before we pulled out. We're going to go down the tunnels surrounding this unknown, find a thin segment of wall, and breach our noses in there, whether the locals like it or not."

"All of us, or do you want to do a two man team?"

"All of us. We don't know what's down there."

XXXX

"Movement, in the rubble!" Ashley warned, spurring the entire team to shift their positions and aim. Before anyone was halfway through, however, a pair of hands shot up from behind the rubble.

"Don't shoot! Human! I'm human!" a woman, around thirty years old with black hair stood up, holding her hands in the air, though a pistol was at her hip. The team relaxed, but Ashley was reassured by the fact that the guards were moving up or spreading out to cover all angles.

"You're with the ExoGeni corporation, right?" the Duke asked, nodding to the woman. "I think I saw you few times I met with Cjong."

"Jeong, and yes I'm with ExoGeni. I hid when the geth came and was lucky when they released the swarms," the woman's elaborated as she approached them, hands slowly lowering. "I fell into a pit and the geth never checked it. By the time the stasis ran out, the place had already been turned into a fortress. I've been hiding ever since."

"'Lucky' is an understatement" the Duke nodded. "Any idea why geth chose this place at particular?"

"Um... no, I don't really... I guess this place is easy to access?" the woman said, before noticing that the Duke, Ashley and Shepard were all looking at her and shifting her stance side to side as she avoided eye contact.

"Really? That's the best poker face you have?" Ashley asked, shaking her head.

"So, the truth this time?" Shepard suggested.

"Okay, so, um... well, ExoGeni kinda ran some experiments on local colonists, actually, not really..." she rubbed her hands as she kept looking side to side. "It's hard to explain, they found something and then noticed it had an effect on the local population. I am not sure what it is exactly, all I learned it was some sort of plant life with spores that infected people before telling them that we should consult the local officials about this."

"I see..." the Duke said, with an undercurrent of anger in his voice.

"Well, I was locked out of the loop after that and was stuck in the medbay for all the usual small stuff like headaches, and then the geth came. Maybe they're after that?"

"The geth are throwing a lot of hardware at Vartan's Landing..." Shepard pointed out.

"So, where can we learn more?" Ashley asked. "Oh, and your name?"

"Lizbeth, Lizbeth Baynham. I think few terminals might be working, I saw the geth working with a few. But most of them have deleted their content and then fried themselves - company policy."

"ExoGeni company policy is to destroy all information?" the Duke asked, with Lizbeth nodding. "Maybe I should be more strict with who I let to set up a shop here..." his voice trailed off.

"I can help you," she added meekly as Ashley and Shepard were still watching her closely. "If you can find a working terminal, you can use my access codes to get into the system and get data out, at least what's left of it. Some of the terminals must have survived; the purge wasn't very well encrypted."

"Then you're coming with us until we find one of the terminals," Ashley ordered as she determined what their next move would be.

"Is it wise? She's a civilian after all," one of the guards asked.

"The less time we have to spend cracking ExoGeni's cybersecurity, the better," Shepard explained. "That, and she knows the building better than we do."

"I also know where they got those docking clamps for their ship," Lizbeth added. "They've got three sets of them, but one of them goes through a hangar door on the upper level."

"I sense an idea there. Go on," Ashley said.

"Well, I heard one of the engineers complain about shoddy work done on the system. If you set it just right, instead of being in control it will slam hard enough to cut through a meter of steel."

"You outsourced the doors to Diaran Systems, didn't you?" the Duke said, rubbing his eyes. "Never imagined their incompetence would be useful." Lizbeth just looked down.

"The geth lost a dropship already trying a suicide run on Vartan's Landing," Shepard pointed out. "They might not have too many left and with the way it's latched on it's probably being used as a command ship. Take that out…"

"And we'll slow the local network down," Tali finished.

"Exactly," Shepard finished as she nodded. "Williams, you want to find a terminal for Miss Baynham?"

"Just me?"

"Take Theuderic and Giselda with you," the Duke added. "The rest of us should be able to take care of the command post."

"Call us if you need help," Ashley answered before glancing at Lizbeth. "You any good with that pistol?"

"Not really."

Ashley sighed. _So it's an escort.._. "Right. Just… stay down. Shep, we'll contact you if we find anything."

"Understood, and be careful."

XXXX

As they left, Etel led the remaining squad up a flight of stairs. A few Hoppers tried to oppose them, but withdrew quickly once they came under fire and a few biotic pulls from her and Liara kept them from escaping.

Reaching the end of a corridor she held up a hand for them to stop and glanced over. There was a light in the next room, bright white, coming from behind what looked like several claws sticking out of the ground and hooked into the wall. In front were three geth infantry, rifles on their backs and they were kneeling before it, bowing towards the strange structure.

"What is it?" Tali muttered from just behind her.

"Three troopers," Etel answered as she put what they were doing aside. "And all looking the other way." she glanced to the duke, who was the third one back. "Tali, fire from here. I'll fire from the other side."

Tali nodded and Etel sprinted to the other side, then leaned out and filled the short corridor with shotgun slugs. The bursts caught the geth in the backs and their kinetic barriers flashed. As the three rose to turn and respond, more bursts bowled them over. As soon as the third one fell, Etel moved forward with the others flanking her, but no more geth came out to engage as they filed into the room.

"Weird," Tali muttered as she stopped to look at what the geth had been kneeling before. "You'd almost think they were praying to this… thing."

Etel nodded as she looked over the 'shrine'. "I didn't think synthetics could have faith."

"Do synthetics dream?" the Duke offered. "This certainly adds an interesting consideration."

"Benezia was also going on like a fanatic," Etel added as her mind flashed back to Noveria. "And the geth are in on it too?"

"Or just programmed to fill out some weird cult ritual," a guard offered.

"Wouldn't be the first time there was one of those machine cults, Hashim," the duke muttered as he gestured for him to check the stairs forward.

"That's it!" Liara said as everyone turned to stare at her before returning to checking the corners. "Sorry," the asari explained as she took a step back. "But I thought this looked familiar. One of my classes at university was a general overview on different galactic cultures, and this was from a section on the quarians."

"Wait, this follows a quarian design?" Tali asked, turning to look at the object the geth were kneeling before - still kneeling, given how they had slumped over to the bullets to the back of the head.

"No surprise," Etel offered. "the geth were created by the quarians. Come on, we've got a mission to complete."

"Hashim?" the Duke asked.

"The path ahead is clear, Duke."

"Good." As they moved on, Etel paused at the top of the stairs up as she noticed Tali and Liara hesitating.

"How come I didn't recognize it?" Tali asked.

"Tali, just because you're a quarian doesn't mean you know everything about them," Liara offered as she put a hand on her shoulder.

Etel frowned, watching the exchange. _What's with Tali? I've never seen her like this..._

"No, but… well, I guess I feel like I should know this. It's where I came from. Am I losing myself with the Empire?"

_Losing herself?_ Etel tilted her head before deciding that this was not the time and raising her voice. "Tali, Liara, come on."

Tali almost jumped, looking in each direction before nodding. "Right. Sorry, just… wondering."

_This isn't the end of it,_ Etel told herself as they caught up to the others.

XXXX

"Anyone else noticing that this place is getting weirder by the meter?" Garrus commented as the team searched the area they had breached into. "What are these things?" he added as he poked one of the tendrils that seemed to grow everywhere with his boot.

"Not really sure," Kaidan admitted, taking a scan on the nearest one. "Their cell structure matches that of a plant, but... well, it's all wrong. It doesn't make sense - it's like a plant pretending to be flesh."

"Does it have the capacity to move?" Nihlus asked, signaling Garrus to move up and scout. As Garrus moved up, Kaidan shook his head.

"Like I said, pretending. It's not actual muscle. Unless we ran into an entirely new type of cellular structure, it's still just a plant. Any movement it could do would probably be very slow. Plenty of time for us to move out of the way."

"Contact, forward," Garrus said, gesturing team to halt. Around the corner, something that resembled a human husk was laying on the ground.

"It's green," Kaidan said. Nihlus nodded in response. The observation might have been obvious, but it was something new. The husks they had fought so far had no colors besides except metal gray and blue, and that was discounting the rotting flesh.

"Doesn't look like it's alive, or anything really," Wrex muttered.

"Garrus, cover. Wrex, check it," Nihlus said. Garrus moved slightly to make sure he had clear shot at the thing, while Wrex moved up. After moving up to the creature, Wrex tapped it lightly. Then turned it. Eventually, he gave it a kick. The creature didn't react even as it fell to the side.

"Whatever it is, it ain't responding," Wrex said. "Spongy, though."

"Spongy?" Kaidan asked, moving up to Wrex and running a scan. "That's interesting. It has same type of cell structure as the tendrils. It even has stuff like bones, except more plant-like than normal bones."

"So, a new type of lifeform?" Garrus asked.

"Too early to tell. Whatever it is, it's not something that anyone has managed to record before."

"We'll deal with it later," Nihlus said. "Kaidan, cover our flank in case it moves. Garrus, on point."

Acknowledging the orders they advanced through the tunnels. After few more turns and an increasing number of inactive creatures, Garrus stopped the group.

"You might want to see this," Garrus reported and Nihlus gestured group to move up. Once they entered the new room, which seemed to be some sort of central hub with a huge pit in the middle. Kaidan instantly saw what had caused Garrus to react. A strange looking creature with orange bulbous mass was hanging in middle of the room, numerous tendrils around the support pillars and strange growth everywhere. And then the face - it reminded Kaidan of old horror stories of eldritch abominations.

"What... is that?" Kaidan asked, looking over the… _thing_.

"I think we found the 'master below'," Wrex muttered as he checked the readout of his shotgun.

Suddenly, the creature began to retch, for the lack of better term. Fluids spewed out from its orifice, before something else dropped down from inside the tentacles. A _green_ asari.

"Invaders," it snarled as it rose up. "Your every step is a transgression. Thousands of feelers appraise you as a meat, only useful to dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are in front of the Thorian, and command you to be in awe."

"Well, looks like we also found what geth want," Wrex said, raising his weapon. Kaidan and Garrus had already spread out on each side of him ready to fight, but Nihlus stepped forward.

"You have met Saren then?" Nihlus asked.

"He came forward to the Old Growth to learn of those long gone. Then he tried to deny Thorian the flesh, that freely given. He sends his cold ones to fight, but the Thorian endures. It was already ancient when the protheans were young," the 'asari' explained with it's near-monotone voice.

"Knowledge. I see. We are after Saren too," Nihlus said, lowering his gun but keeping it ready. "Perhaps we can help each other. There is help coming to destroy Saren's forces. Working together, we can nail Saren and remove him as a threat to you."

_Really? Allying with that thing before we even know what it is?_ Kaidan thought, wondering how many movies this had been in, but remained silent. The Spectre clearly had some sort of plan, or was stalling for one. He hoped for the former.

"The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies. For the first time in many cycles, the Thorian has had access to flesh. Trades were made, yet not honored. Cold ones march to destroy all growth on the soil. There is no truth in flesh. You shall now serve a higher purpose."

"We tried. Take it -gah!" Nihlus' order was cut off as he took a step back, holding his head. "What was that?"

Kaidan felt it too, a push in his brain, as if something was trying to control his body, but distorted going through his biotic amp. "We need to get out of here, _now!"_

"_Fall back_!" Nihlus shouted as the team began to move.

"Wrex, watch out!" Garrus shouted, before his rifle barked and a concussive shot hit Wrex in the back. "It's- argh!" Garrus doubled and fell down, holding his head. Kaidan felt his hands move against his will, aiming at Nihlus, but managed to jerk them enough to miss.

"Alenko, Wrex, you still able to move?" Nihlus demanded as he backed up the door, once again holding his head with one hand. Kaidan tried to stand up from his cover, but something grabbed his ankle and tripped him back, rifle sliding away. One of the green husks had grabbed him, having crawled from under the vines. Several move had also appeared and seemed to be swarming over Wrex who had discarded his weapon and had resorted to punching them.

"Get out and get help! We'll hold them!" Kaidan shouted, launching a quick and barely controlled throw field at the green husk. The energy tore through it, ripping it apart as if he had been using an anti-materiel rifle. Nihlus looked at them for another moment, as if hesitating, before running upstairs. Kaidan shot one of the creatures that tried to follow Nihlus with his pistol as he moved back to the access point. The pain in his head had been steadily growing and it was becoming harder to think.

"Garrus, get these-" Wrex said and Kaidan saw Garrus slowly stand up. However, instead of helping Wrex, Garrus remained silent and fired another concussive shot at Wrex, then another, and another, until Wrex was pinned down as the creatures swarmed him. Garrus then turned towards Kaidan.

"I know what you're thinking," Kaidan muttered, holding the wall to have support as the pain increased. "But you're not getting past me. I've had migraines a lot worse than this…" he focused as best he could, blue distortions shimmering around him as his biotics began to flare up. "Let me show you why!"

As his skull began to hurt even more, he released the biotic energy which had built up more than he usually allowed it too. The blue wave smashed into the husk-like creatures which disintegrated the moment they hit the walls. Garrus went flying into a pillar next to the pit and slid down, unconscious. The green 'asari' had gone flying into the pit, but the creature itself was unphased by the display as it fizzled out.

Kaidan dropped to a knee, but his head felt clear - the pain from his amp reminding him that he was alive. _Invoking the master's whip…_ he realized with a faint smile that he couldn't help.

Wrex pushed himself up as well, drawing his heavy assault rifle and moving next to him to fully block the way out.

"Well, I can think worse ways to go," Wrex muttered.

"I can think better ways," Kaidan offered as the creature seemed to recover from the surprise and more of the creatures began to emerge from the rooms that surrounded it.

"So, fighting retreat?"

"And if someone starts to turn, knock him out."

"Works for me," Wrex said as he opened fire, the heavy and incendiary rounds of his assault rifle tearing through the creatures. They didn't collapse immediately, but the high force of impact staggered them or even broke off parts of their bodies.

XXXXX

"_ExoGeni Corporations reminds all staff that discharging weapon while on company property is forbidden. All illegal discharges will be reported to local authorities,"_ the VI rattled on, only now audible again as the last echoes of the firefight died down.

"I think the authorities already know we are here," Ashley snorted as she recovered her rifle - the Battlemaster had managed to knock it away - and made a mental note to ask Shepard how she managed to deploy omni-blades so fast. _She must have some optimizer or something in her tool,_ she determined as she checked the Lancer and nodded once she saw it was intact.

"Is it safe?" Lizbeth asked, hiding behind a nearby piece of rubble.

"For now," she retorted. "Theuderic, Giselda, you two see anything?"

"We're clear," Theuderic answered as he was looking at the broken remains of his shotgun. "Damn it, I spent way too much making that…"

"We'll get you another one," Giselda chided. "Doctor Baynham?"

"Working in it," she said as she accessed the VI again while the others made their way over.

"_Welcome back, assistant Lizbeth Baynham. How may I assist you?" _the VI continued the moment Lizbeth was in front of it again.

"What was the krogan asking you?" Ashley asked, but the VI remained silent. Lizbeth repeated the question for her.

"_Previous user attempted to access classified information without proper authorization,_" the VI froze for a second before continuing. _"User notification. Your temporary suspensions is still in effect and as such, no information may be downloaded from this terminal."_

"What information?" Ashley pushed on as Lizbeth entered a passcode.

"_Checking clearance. Clearance confirmed, fetching data. User was attempting to access information regarding Subject Species 37, Thorian."_

"Give me the logs," Lizbeth said, before turning to the others. "Maybe we can learn something new."

"_Subject Species 37, nicknamed Thorian. No new data has been logged within last 68 Earth hours, as all observation devices in Vartan's Landing have ceased to transmit. A maintenance request has been automatically generated."_

"What does Vartan's Landing have to do with the Thorian?" Ashley asked quickly. Lizbeth relayed the question.

"_The Thorian resides within the tower which Vartan's Landing is built in."_

"So, what is this... Thorian?" Giselda asked as she glanced back from covering the door.

"Some sort of plant," Lizbeth explained before pausing and looking at the VI. "Give me a rundown of the Thorian, computer."

"_The Thorian is a plant-like life form that exhibits sentient behavior unlike other flora. Through use of almost undetectable spores the Thorian is able gain control of subjects' nervous systems and continues its control through unknown ways. Current prevailing theor-"_

"Never mind that. It can control people?!" Ashley shouted over the VI, though it ignored her as it droned on.

"_\- is that it controls subjects through the use of a highly complex system of pheromones. Subjects seem to retain their free will and the Thorian seems to not to influence the subjects beyond ensuring its own survival. Warning! Class Seven air filtering is required on all personnel operating within Vartan's Landing in order to avoid possible contamination."_

"Class Seven?" Theuderic asked as Ashley's mind went through several worst case scenarios.

"Shit!" she swore as the worst case crossed her mind. "If that's an Alliance classification, our kit's only around Class Five if sealed for hazardous environments. How long does it take for infection?!"

The VI did not answer.

"Lizbeth, I need to know, if I've been there too long…"

Lizbeth relayed the question, and the VI immediately answered. _"Observation of Vartan's Landing has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, 92% of population was infected. Fastest infection rate observed was within 30 minutes from arrival. It is unknown how exposure to a concentration of spores would affect the infection rate, as density within the colony itself varies heavily."_

"How do we check for infection?" Theuderic asked. Lizbeth repeated the question.

"_Subjects that have been infected exhibit some unusual behaviors, such as unwillingness to discuss their personal lives, preferring to refer to the colony as a whole. On the biological level, ExoGeni offers kits to test for possible infections on human bodies by testing reaction times from the nervous system and adrenaline levels. Presently, non-human options are being studied."_

"Where are the nearest kits?" Lizbeth asked before any of the others could start.

"_Closest supply closet is in the next room,"_ the VI responded.

"I'll get it," Giselda said as she moved off, leaving Theuderic to stand guard on stairwell up.

"We'll need something to deal with the spores," Ashley explained as she wondered how Nihlus and Kaidan were doing. "If we have to go back to the colony we need dedicated NBC gear."

"You mean the big stuff, right?" Lizbeth asked. "Not just adding a rebreather?"

"Exactly," Ashley answered, going on as she had a feeling that Lizbeth had little knowledge of this. "Class Five is standard issue because it's enough to allow a Marine to go into vacuum for a while and stuff like nerve gas can't get through our filters. But some things are either too fine for those filters or outright eat through it. The problem is that the gear to resist that kind of bioweapon…"

"... expensive and bulky," Theuderic finished "I hate drills with that stuff."

Giselda came back with a small handheld scanner and passed it to Lizbeth. The ExoGeni doctor took it and scanned Ashley, nodding to herself.

"You're clean," Lizbeth explained. "But this isn't calibrated for non-humans, so I can't guarantee that what this says about quarians or asari will be accurate."

"Better than nothing," she answered. "We've got what we came for, now we need to meet up with the others." Ashley keyed her comset, but still only received static. "The jammer's still active, so we're going to the control room."

"All of us?" Lizbeth asked.

"Relax, we dealt with a Battlemaster, we'll be fine," Ashley retorted. "Come on, we need to warn the others."

XXXX

Grunting from the force of the Collector's captain trying to force its way through her two handed block, Etel dropped with it and pivoting on her knee, swept her opponent's feet out from under it. Her insectoid enemy shrieked as it lost balance, and Etel quickly brought her omni-blade around and shoved it into it's face. The blade disengaged from her omni-tool as she pulled her arm out and grabbed her pistol, firing several more shots at point blank range to make sure it stayed dead.

Glancing around, the gunfire in the control room died down as the last of the geth and Collectors acting as security fell, several corpses still floating from Liara's singularity and bouncing off the walls as they hit.

"We clear?" She asked.

"Clear," Tali answered. "Hashim, how's the duke doing?"

"I'm fine," the older man answered before the guardsman could, "you don't need to dote over me! I'm not _that_ old yet!"

"You took three shots to the side," the guardsman retorted, "one of which punctured your stomach. You're lucky you aren't smelling breakfast right now…"

"I always smell breakfast, Hashim, now about what we came here for…"

"Tali?" Etel asked, "which console do you need?"

"Give me a second," the quarian answered as she moved up while Liara was checking the corners from her vantage point with a pistol. Checking the main table that had been displaying the planet in a hologram, Tali nodded as she hit a blinking red button.

The building trembled for a moment and Etel looked over to see the doors which the geth dropship was holding itself through shake, before suddenly shooting forward with enough force that Etel half crouched. The leg-like docking clamps were sheared across their joints, the parts inside collapsing and Liara had to throw up a small barrier to stop one piece from crashing onto her.

Outside however, Etel could hear scraping and crashing as the dropship tumbled down.

"Shoddy," Tali muttered as she kept looking through the console. "That self-deletion program Lizbeth mentioned? Missed a few bits. Found a manifest to another facility of theirs on Nodacrux, looks like it received a shipment from here…"

"What cluster?" Etel asked as she walked over to look at the data, which included an item listing at least a dozen 'Local Fauna Samples'.

"Maroon Sea…" the quarian tilted her head. "Weird. That's a dead end cluster, the only way to and from it is through Attican Beta…"

"Grab a copy of it before some program comes and deletes it, we can forward it to those who need it."

"Not a problem. And… there."

Keying her commlink, Etel glanced back the way they had come. "Williams, do you copy?" Static. "Williams? Looks like the jamming isn't from the ship either. It's coming from somewhere else. We planned to regroup here, so we wait."

They did not have to wait long as the rest of the team arrived minutes later, all of them looking worried and Williams had some sort of scanner in hand.

"Shepard, Tali, Liara, hold still for a minute," Williams ordered as she strode forward with it. "We need to make sure you're not infected."

"Infected?" Liara asked incredulously as Williams moved forward. "With what?"

"The Thorian," Lizbeth explained. "It's… well, it's what ExoGeni was after here."

"And this Thorian is what, exactly?" The Duke asked as he folded his arms from where he had sat down to wait.

"It's a form of plant life, sir," Giselda explained. "Right under Vartan's Landing."

"You're all clean," Williams added as she finished the scans and sighed in relief. "Okay, good, that's one crisis averted."

"So what exactly does this 'Thorian' _do_?" Etel demanded. "We haven't seen whatever you saw."

"Short version? It can control humans through the spores, and those spores cut through standard NBC, so even if we had sealed up completely it could've infected us. Look we need to get back and warn the others before they get infected too, I'll explain on the way…"

Etel nodded. "Lead on."

The explanation was short, and sometimes punctured by stragglers taking pot shots at them, but Etel's unease grew rapidly as more was explained to her. Already she was considering how to deal with it - most scenarios involving a lot of riot tactics on the infected that tried to resist, quarantining the area, and burning this 'Thorian' until it knew to back off. Studying it was secondary in her mind.

The Duke was not taking it much better, clearly disgusted. "So let me get this straight," he said as Giselda and Theuderic were checking the next room that looked too much like a trap, "ExoGeni has been experimenting on _my_ people on _my_ watch just for some plant?"

"More or less," Lizbeth admitted as she was trying to stay small behind the fallen pillar she had taken cover behind. "Look I'm not any happier about how far it went than you are..."

"I know, but this happened on _my_ watch. This is _my_ responsibility…"

"You know now," Williams pointed out, "so, what's the plan?"

"First we regroup at the outpost and take stock of what we have; we might need to wait until after the geth are gone, but as soon as we can I want to move in."

"That'll be tricky, Duke," Etel warned as Giselda indicated it was clear and they started to move forward. "Vartan's Landing might be an old skyscraper, but right now every approach is covered and fortified. And if the Thorian figures out we know…"

"... then we'll be clearing out buildings and ratholes for weeks," Ashley finished, "especially if Nihlus or Kaidan are under it's control."

"Even if we push the geth out we won't be up for a siege," the Duke shook his head. "We have to figure out something before we rush in."

"Then we go for the head," Etel suggested. "Find the Thorian, and burn it until it releases control."

"That assumes we can find it," Williams pointed out, "but if we could…"

"There's the garage," Lizbeth said as they came into a wide opening. "But where're the geth?"

"Pulling back?" Tali offered. "They just lost their local network hub, they might need to regroup at another one."

"Works for me," Etel retorted. "The Mako isn't too far, so if we can get to it…"

"Uh, I hate to interrupt, but aren't we forgetting someone?" Liara asked.

Etel paused, her gut tightening.

"Jenkins!" Williams shouted. "Come on, we need to get that Armature!"

It didn't take long to find which hallway matched up with the one they had taken earlier, but as they took up positions to move down, Etel paused at what she saw at the other end.

"Hey guys, what took so long?" someone shouted from the other end.

"Jenkins?" Williams asked incredulously as she glanced over and saw the Alliance Marine sitting on the wrecked Armature. After a moment, they moved down the hallway and got a better look. Rubble had piled up around and it looked like the passage had partially collapsed, but some of the rubble had also been moved.

"Hey commander. We got bored waiting, so we decided to try and take out the Armature," he explained as he climbed over. "So, everything go well?"

"Yes, but we've got more important…"

"Is that a geth weapon?" Tali asked as she pointed to what Jenkins had in his hands.

"Oh this? Yeah, turns out that Armature was protecting a weapons stash or something. Well my Lancer got crushed while slaying the dragon, so I figured I might as well loot a replacement from it's hoard."

"Kill a Colossus with small arms, then we'll talk about slaying dragons," Etel snorted as she shook her head.

"Hey, Delavor, Nasir, you two hear that?" Jenkins asked. "She says we need to slay a Colossus with small arms!"

"Challenge accepted!" came a shout from somewhere behind the Armature, followed by smaller "Ooh! Weapon mods! I wonder if these are compatible with ours..."

"Do I need to remind you that you are members of my House Guard?" The Duke said, though his light tone indicated he was not serious. "I call dibs on everything."

"And this is why I prefer democracy," Jenkins shrugged, earning a chuckle from the pair of gunners, who were now walking back to others. "I vote we get to keep all the loot!"

Three hands rose in the air.

"All opposed?" Ashley commented, earning a victory with eight raised hands.

"Democracy sucks," Jenkins said, spearing his hands before nodding to the two Imperials. "You have to hand it to them, managing to shoot through the repair system was pretty neat." Nasir gave an exaggerated bow in response.

"Thank you. And I have to hand it to you, that's the first time I have seen _anyone_ pull 'your other shoulder' on an Armature. Granted, I have never even seen an Armature until recently, but who cares of minor details."

"I don't want to interrupt, again, but... um..." Liara began, before falling silent for a moment and then seemingly gathering her courage. "What about the Thorian?"

"Right, story time later," Etel said. "Williams, you want to fill them in again?" Williams nodded in response as they began to file out.

XXXX

Getting back to the outpost proved to be fairly simple - the geth troops had been regrouping according to the scouts, and several ships had been seen taking off fully loaded. No one knew quite what to make of it, but the relief was much appreciated as they started to reconnect with other elements of the planetary defense forces as the jamming faded.

"_Normandy, this is Nihlus, respond,"_ Nihlus voice came from the radio. Tali began immediately to work on improving the signal.

"The jamming is completely gone," Tali explained as she adjusted the main communications suite in the outpost. "And… that should do it!"

"_This is Normandy. What do you need?" _Anderson responded as Ashley and Shepard both strode towards the receiver.

"_We were ambushed and most of the team is down. We need immediate evac, this mission is an abort. I repeat, we are aborting the mission. We are holding at Vartan's Landing."_

"'Most of the team is down'?" Ashley asked, looking at Shepard, "At best half would be done, so…"

"He's trying to sound more desperate."

"_Understood, we are-"_

"This is Commander WIlliams, belay that order! I repeat, do not obey!"

"_Commander, what are you doing?"_ Nihlus demanded, annoyance evident in his voice.

"We have strong suspicion that Spectre Nihlus and his team might have been compromised. Do not allow them to enter the _Normandy_," Shepard added.

"_Can someone explain to me what is going on?"_ Anderson ordered. _"We've only got an hour left if we don't use our guns, this isn't the time for games!"_

"_Captain, I do not know what our two candidates are thinking, but we require imminent pickup and I order you with Spectre authority to come and get us out of here."_

"Captain, this is 's Landing is _not_ what it seems and the geth still have several positions nearby. Going there is guaranteed to get geth scramble ships to attack you," Shepard continued.

"There is something under the colony that can affect minds of organics. Tali, can you forward the files we pulled?" Ashley added, before turning to Tali.

"I think I can. Or at least the overview, the rest might take longer but… give me a second," she responded, starting to work on the console and her omni-tool.

"Tali is forwarding you the files. There is a very high chance that Nihlus and his team are now thralls of this thing and are attempting to get it off planet," Ashley continued to Anderson, who remained silent for a moment..

"_Commander, you understand how crazy that sounds? You are asking me to against Spectre authority, not only putting my own career on the line here, but also yours and the Alliance's political reputation," _Anderson said. Ashley bit her lip, before continuing.

"Yes. This is important. Captain, if you ever trust me in anything, trust me in this. Please."

"Files sent," Tali chimed in.

"Nihlus, where did you get your air filters?" Ashley asked in hurry, hoping that it would buy Anderson time to read the files.

"_From the _Normandy_, of course. Military grade equipment," _Nihlus responded, with some confusion in his voice.

"Sir, you need Class Seven filters to be able to resist this thing, the filters we use are Class Five at best. We didn't stock the dedicated NBC gear."

"Give me the radio," the Duke said, squeezing to the driving compartment. "This is Duke Charles of House Descoteaux, ruling Noble of Feros. I can personally vouch for the story of these two and strongly urge you to listen to them."

"_You made contact with the local Duke?"_ Anderson asked

"Yes sir, he is with us and joined us when we went for the ExoGeni building."

"_... Understood. Spectre Nihlus, under current circumstance, I am unable to comply with your request until you are confirmed not to have been compromised."_

"_There will be repercussions for this,"_ Nihlus said, before cutting the line. Ashley let out a sigh, while Shepard put her hand on Ashley's shoulder.

"If anyone asks, I'm with you on this. We are either both right or both wrong."

"Thanks. Now, we have to go get our friends…"

"I think I can help with that," the Duke said as he gestured for them to the tactical holodisplay which was showing Vartan's Landing. A scout team had been sent, and with the communications jamming lifting he was able to report back from where he was. "Sergeant, report."

"_Sir, there's at least forty-six hostiles. Twenty look like the local defense forces and militia, I see a turian in really high tech gear, an Alliance marine, and a krogan. There are also bunch of other things, but I can't identify them."_

"Do you see another turian?" Shepard asked.

"_No, I don't see-"_ there was suddenly a loud noise from the speaker, until another voice came in.

"_Shit, sniper fire! I can't pinpoint it! Oh God, the sergeant is down - grab him and pull back!"_

"Yup, Garrus is there too," Ashley said ruefully.

"Sounds like your hunch was correct then. The entire colony and your second team has been compromised," the Duke sighed, shaking his head..

"I was afraid it was. Now we have to see about getting in."

"We can't just go in and kill everyone. They didn't choose to be enslaved by a plant," Shepard stated, crossing her arms. "So we need a method to knock them out."

"Would a knock-out gas even work on those plant zombies?" Tali asked.

"Probably not," Shepard conceded, dropping her arms. "But I cannot really condone just killing them."

"And I refuse to simply bomb the place to get a foothold. I'm not killing my own people for ExoGeni's mess," the Duke said, when sudden Lizbeth perked up.

"A bomb…" she said.

"Lizbeth?" Shepard asked as she turned her head.

"That's it, a bomb!" Lizbeth smiled. "We can clear most of it with a bomb with some sort of pesticide, then sweep the rest!"

"Pesticide?" Ashley asked as she started to see where it was going.

"If the storage tanks haven't been destroyed, there should be some Dovaldin pesticide left," the Duke nodded. "It doesn't hurt humans, or any other non-plant life, but in large enough concentrations it can knock someone out."

"Yes! It should be strong enough to damage the Thorian, or at least its spores and make them go dormant!"

"And if we subdue that, we can quarantine them without having to kill them," Shepard finished as she put a hand on her chin. "Now we just need a delivery method."

"Why not artillery?" Ashley offered as she pointed to a nearby skyscraper on the map, one that was well within artillery range - even close enough for the Mako to direct fire if it needed to. "If we can saturate the area with the pesticide, there won't be a lot of collateral damage, and even if we can't get everything it would at least suppress it."

The Duke shook his head. "We have some artillery left, but none of it's mobile enough to get into position, and the rest is too far to deliver the payload."

"And there's still enough geth out there that moving fixed artillery pieces is going to just get them destroyed," Ashley hit the edge of the table with her fist. "Well, we can always retrofit the Mako's main gun. It won't help us inside, but it's better than nothing…"

"What about air support?" Shepard asked. "I know it sounds heartless, but we only need one sortie…"

"Hmm," the Duke nodded, before turning to one of the nearby officers. "What would you say, General Boucicaut?

"Armed craft no," he admitted as he checked a file on his omni-tool. "But there are some civilian airframes that could be retrofitted, the ones we usually use for checking superstructures. Major Falar's battle group is near them and they have enough engineers to modify them to carry munitions. Just give a word and I will have her send volunteers for the mission."

"Pointless, those craft only have civilian kinetic barriers and the cockpits aren't reinforced enough to allow them to bail out in time. If we had some fighters, I'd say go for it because at least then they'd have a chance to bail out. I'd rather those pilots sit on their asses then get killed on a suicide mission, volunteering or not."

"As you wish, m'lord," Boucicaut said as he shut down his omni-tool and went to check on other fronts.

"So, no long range delivery," Shepard sighed. "And anything infantry sized would need to be massed enough for the geth to just drop orbital slugs on top of them."

"Um, sir?" One of the Guardsmen asked. The Duke nodded at him. "Why not just... throw it at them? We still have some old tear gas grenades. Just replace the content." There was a moment of silence, before a sound of a hand hitting a visor.

"God, now I feel stupid for not thinking that earlier," Tali muttered.

"Most ideas sound obvious in hindsight," Ashley muttered as she had a similar feeling. _Modifying the Mako's gun - direct fire would kill anyone it hit no matter what it had inside..._

"How quickly can we convert the grenades and how many?" The Duke asked.

"It's not really that difficult. Ten minutes per grenade, five if we don't try to preserve the original content. Less than that if they are empty," Tali explained.

"I have no idea how many grenades we have, you'll need to ask others," the guardsman added. "All I remember we spend entire day carrying them on various fall back positions like this, I think it was something like twenty per crate and five of those in each position."

"Miss 'Zorah, grab whatever you need and start working on those grenades," the Duke ordered, "There are some canisters of pesticide left on lower levels, one of the hallways collapsed right into a storage room of it."

"Can I get some help? The more people working on it the faster it'll get done," she explained.

"Take every technician who's not working on repairing our defenses. I want as many grenades as we can get."

"Then we have to pay a visit to Vartan's Landing, and the Thorian…" Shepard explained as she glared at the display of the structure.

Ashley didn't answer, but she wondered: were they ready to fight their own friends? It was easy to understand they were out of control intellectually. Emotionally…

She shook her head and set to work canvassing it for entry points, adding what she had learned while helping them defend as a plan began to come together.

XXXXXXXX

**End Chapter**

Author's Notes:

_\- This story is not dead, merely delayed by school. It's been getting hectic for all writers. Other issue we had was that our muse kept inspiring us about stuff that would come later in the story, so writing this chapter took longer_

_-We also wanted to avoid blindly rethreading the canon, which kept us also from finishing up quickly. Trying to think of ways to play things differently, yet not go against what we already planned. Should only take one more chapter on Feros, then we've got the room we want._

_\- Thank you to korrd, Vahn, darkerego, RheasHelm, Jozern, ChaosSpartan575, scottusa1, OBSERVER01, jgkitarel, and Lanhua for their reviews. As to the point about the Empire's population and military capacity - we definitely intend to address those points. You made a very thorough review but as a guest it could not be responded to directly. Though something to note is that with the Star Empire, while yes they had some medieval values/organization, they also adapted heavily to new circumstances, and had benefits that IRL humanity in the same period simply lacked thanks to the Citadel. They had a thousand years to evolve, and exposure to ideas that worked to learn from._

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**Codex: Star Empire Military - Military Ranks**

The Star Empire's military rank hierarchy has evolved in great part by learning from the Council even before it left Nod. In an effort to gain an advantage over their opponents, Imperial strategists studied the terrestrial war history of other Council species. As a result it fits a similar convention to the turian military, whose numerous conflicts provided much material to learn from. However, per Council standard, all military personnel are split between three different categories: Rank-and-File enlisted, experienced non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and fully trained and commissioned officers, and the ranks were devised to fit into the Citadel's Operative Rank Number system, making it one of the few built around that.

While the Imperial Army and Navy are for all intents and purposes a single command, matters of pride and institutional inertia from entering the spaceflight stage at an accelerated pace has resulted in the Empire's rank system being primarily army based at the enlisted and NCO level. The navy, as a matter of pride due to their critical role in modern military operations, use their own ranks at the commissioned officer level.

Proper address for superiors is "sir" or "ma'am" as appropriate for the officer's gender. However, Imperial nobles or aristocrats are often referred to with the noble honorifics by their soldiers instead as a matter of respect. This is not required officially as part of the organizational reforms by Hassan the II, and is purely at the soldier's discretion, but most Imperial soldiers do so out of habit.

In descending order of responsibility within the Imperial Military (with Naval equivalents on the right), ranks are as follows:

Commissioned Officers:  
-Marshal/High Admiral  
\- General/Admiral  
\- Brigadier General/Rear Admiral  
\- Commander  
\- Major/Lieutenant Commander  
\- Captain/Staff Lieutenant  
\- Senior Lieutenant  
\- Lieutenant  
\- Cadet Lieutenant (Rank only used by trainees in the field due to circumstance)

Non-Commissioned Officers:  
\- Sergeant-at-Arms  
\- Staff Sergeant  
\- Sergeant

Enlisted:  
\- Corporal  
\- Private, 1st Class  
\- Private, 2nd Class


End file.
